Sluggish Naomi Osaka stays alive while Simona Halep eases past Johanna Konta
Naomi Osaka was given a good run-around by Sara Sorribes Tormo at the Madrid Open before she got her act together to pull clear for the second-round win.
World No 1 Osaka required two hours and 36 minutes to see off the Spaniard 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-0.
The duo traded four breaks in the first set before Osaka took the tie-breaker, but Tormo was dominant in the second set as she broke three times compared to the Japanese player’s one.
However, the two-time Grand Slam champion overpowered her opponent in the decider to set up a clash against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who overcame Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2, 6-2.
“I just tried to focus more and cut down on errors.”@Naomi_Osaka_ gives the key to a fantastic final set #MMOpen pic.twitter.com/uDFXWed2kp
— WTA (@WTA) May 7, 2019
World No 2 Halep had an easier day at the office as she eased to a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Johanna Konta.
British No 1 Konta reached the second round following a chaotic couple of days as she played in the final of the Morocco Open on Saturday and was in first-round action in Madrid on Sunday.
And she started well enough as she took a 3-1 lead after breaking the Halep serve in game two, but the Romanian hit back with breaks in games eight and 12 before running away with proceedings in the second set.
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