Osaka Wins Her First Qualifying Match Since 2018 At Cincinnati Open

Naomi Osaka played her first qualifying match in six years at the 2024 Cincinnati Open, and she won even though it wasn't the cleanest match.

The Japanese player admitted earlier this year that she wanted to be back in the Top 10 by the end of the year. Obviously, it was a very ambitious declaration, but it wasn't impossible, as a player of that caliber should never be doubted.

Osaka improved her ranking quite a bit and played really well at times, but she failed in reaching her goal so far. That's why she was forced to play the qualifiers at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati.

Her ranking wasn't good enough to enter the event directly, so she had to rely on a wild card, and she got it only for the qualifying. She showed her humble nature as she simply stepped out on the court and played her match.

It's not the first time she did it because she has had to do that in the past as well. It's been six years since she had to play in the qualifying, and it wasn't that clean of a match in Cincinnati.

Osaka generally hasn't played clean matches for much of this year, as she struggled with consistency. Ideally, she would have loved to have played a clean match, but she had to settle for playing three sets against Anna Blinkova.

The Russian is a solid player, so her level wasn't that surprising. The opening set was a really dominant display from Osaka, who hit the ball extremely well. Blinkova couldn't counter her, and it seemed like it would be a swift match in two sets.

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After taking that opening set 6-2, the four-time major winner fell off in the second set. She didn't serve that well in the first, but at least played solid in the rallies. In the second set, Osaka served even worse, which created lots of frustration.

That frustration spilled over into the rallies, where Blinkova played a bit better. Osaka just sent the ball wide without any precision, and obviously, that couldn't work out, as she lost the set 2-6.

The final set opened with a solid first service game with no trouble for the Japanese player. She needed to serve that way to give herself a good chance of winning this match because Blinkova was playing well by then.

The quickness of the courts in Cincinnati benefits great serves because it creates lots of pace that is hard to toss away. Osaka kept serving well in the final set, but Blinkova was playing well in the rallies.

Still, Osaka's persistence created a break chance up 2-1 in the final set, and she broke to take a 3-1 lead. Still, her opponent was able to break back in the very next game to make it 3-2.

However, Osaka could then break for a 4-2 lead, as she was able to keep her cool and win the match 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 to reach the final round of qualifying at the 2024 Cincinnati Open, in which she will play against Ashlyn Krueger.

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