Naomi Osaka Wins Brutal First-Round Match At Australian Open, Faces Bigger Hurdle Next
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Naomi Osaka's draw at the 2025 Australian Open was incredibly brutal, but she got through the first round, beating Caroline Garcia.
Osaka was relatively unlucky during the 2024 season. She aimed high during her comeback, but most of her matches were blown away by the difficult draws that she was getting.
Although she started the 2025 season with a great run at the ASB Classic, where she reached the final before retiring, she's still not among the seeded players, and the draw for the Australian Open was less than nice to her.
In the first round, she took on former WTA World No. 4, Caroline Garcia, who beat her in the first round of the very same tournament only 12 months ago.
Now, Osaka came for revenge, and she played like it. The Japanese player was pumped from the first rally that was played at the Rod Laver Arena, and already in the fifth game, she broke her opponent's serve.
The four-time major winner was the dominant player in the opening set of the match, and she was able to add another break to her one-break lead, winning the first set 6-3.
But Garcia came to fight for the second round in Melbourne, and she was able to replicate her opponent's first-set performance in the second set of the match.
The French player started by breaking once, and when Osaka served to stay in the set, Garcia broke her the second time, winning the second set of the match 6-3, forcing the decider.
Although it was the French player who carried all the momentum into the third set, Osaka started it better, breaking Garcia to lead 2-1. This time, however, the Japanese player had to save a total of four break points, but she managed to do that.
Then, she once again mirrored the first and second sets of the match, adding another break when her opponent was serving to stay in the match, to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, reaching the second round of the 2025 Australian Open.
After overcoming a brutal first-round draw, her second opponent will be even more challenging. Karolina Muchova is one of the most talented players on the WTA Tour, but since she often struggles with injuries, her ranking doesn't reflect it.
The 20th-seeded Czech player destroyed Nadia Podoroska 6-1, 6-1 in the first round, and she will want to beat the former World No. 1 next.
When Osaka spoke to former player Laura Robson during her on-court interview, she was happy to play at the Rod Laver Again, especially after she wasn't able to practice a lot before her match.
"I'm just really grateful to get the opportunity to play on Rod Laver again, I was a little shocked when I saw the schedule. It's a big honor for me."
"I feel like I grinded on the tour a little bit. It's a really big coincidence that I'm playing here again but I just tried to do my best. I know we played the night match here last time, as well. It felt a little familiar."
"Just being able to play so many matches in New Zealand and then coming here, obviously I had to withdraw from the final because I got injured. I didn't serve too many times before this match but I'm really happy with how it turned out."
