Former Miami Open finalist Naomi Osaka narrowly avoided an early exit, staging a comeback against Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva. After losing the first set and falling behind in the second, Osaka rallied to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a match lasting 2 hours and 28 minutes.
Osaka, who reached the final in Miami in 2022 losing to Iga Swiatek, had been struggling for wins since January. Her last victory was at the Australian Open where she reached the third round before retiring due to injury. Coming into Miami, she was also disappointed with her first-round loss at Indian Wells.
Osaka admitted feeling pressure to perform well, saying, “I want to compete with the best players and I see everyone playing at such a high level. I need to remember it`s a gradual process.”
However, Osaka showed she had learned from her recent setbacks as she faced Starodubtseva for the first time. She explained her strategy in her on-court interview: “I knew I wasn`t at my best, but I wanted to stay in the match as long as possible. Miami feels like home to me. In Indian Wells, I was over-hitting. This time, I focused on using my legs and being prepared to run and play for as long as it took.”
Starodubtseva, despite a difficult season so far, played impressively, especially after qualifying for the main draw. She took an early lead, going up 5-0 and later 6-3, 4-2 against Osaka, putting immense pressure on the former world number one.
Ultimately, Osaka`s experience and resilience prevailed. She didn`t need to play for three hours, but she demonstrated grit to secure her fourth three-set victory of the year. Her next opponent is No. 24 seed Liudmila Samsonova, against whom Osaka has a mixed record, with one win and one loss last year. Samsonova defeated Osaka in Indian Wells but Osaka won in Madrid.
Key Moment: Starodubtseva initially played almost flawlessly, absorbing Osaka`s power and responding with deep, accurate shots and clever sliced backhands. Despite a slight wobble in the first set, she saved break points in the second and broke Osaka to lead 4-2.
Starodubtseva then had opportunities to extend her lead to 5-3, but errors crept in, allowing Osaka to break back. Osaka seized the momentum, quickly holding serve to go up 5-4. Starodubtseva faltered, losing the set as Osaka capitalized on errors.
Osaka`s serve improved significantly as the match progressed. Her first serve percentage and points won on her first serve increased each set, reaching near-perfect levels in the final set. She saved both break points she faced in the deciding set.
Despite starting with double faults in the first set, Osaka finished with 10 aces, ending the match with two service winners.
