Osaka Displays Fighting Spirit But Ultimately Loses To Paolini In Miami
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Naomi Osaka showed how well she can fight on the tennis court, but her efforts were not enough to overcome Jasmine Paolini at the 2025 Miami Open.
Since returning to the tennis courts as a mother, Osaka has prided herself in being a player who fights for every ball and never gives up. That is the approach that has helped her to enjoy relative success since returning to the competitive action.
After her third-round win over Hailey Baptiste at the WTA 1000 event in Miami, Osaka spoke on the Tennis Channel desk, saying that being a fighter has been one of her goals, showing her opponents that to get through her, they would need to fight.
"If you are going to beat me, you’re just going to have to fight harder than me. Which should be quite difficult."
Paolini was certainly aware of that statement, and the Italian player got to experience that first-hand during their third-round match in Miami. Although it was a classic best-of-three sets match, it seemed like the players fought that the one that would win the opening game would also win the match.
The first game was also the longest game of the match. It went through eight deuces, and Osaka had five break points. But even that wasn't enough to break her opponent's serve, as Paolini held to lead 1-0.
But the Japanese player was the better player in the first set of this match. Both players had their chances, as even Paolini could break to lead 2-0, but ultimately, it was Osaka who secured the first break, leading 3-2.
Her Italian opponent quickly responded by tying the score at 3-3, but that was also the last game that the two-time Grand Slam finalist managed to win the opening set of this match. Osaka played better in the following three games to win the first set 6-3.
If Paolini wanted to fight for a win, she needed a quick response, and she found it already in the first game of the second set. The Italian player broke Osaka's serve, but an even more important moment came a few games later.
Paolini lost a 40-15 lead on her serve, and she had to save two break points. She managed to do that and hold her serve. That was an important moment because, after that, Osaka went on to win 24 consecutive points on her serve.
The Japanese player served incredibly, but unfortunately for her, she couldn't cause any damage on the return. That's why she lost the second set of this match 4-6.
Osaka held in her first two service games of the third set without losing a point as well, but once she lost a point, she also lost her serve. The four-time Grand Slam champion was 2-3 down, and she couldn't break back in the following game despite having two break points.
Ultimately, Paolini was able to hold her serve for the remainder of this match to win it 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Osaka had three break points in the third set, but she was the player who had her serve broken despite facing only one break point.
Despite the loss, it was another great performance from Osaka. Paolini, on the other hand, can be happy about her win, and she will now prepare for her quarter-final match against Coco Gauff or Magda Linette.
