Naomi Osaka has been through to her first WTA 1000 semifinal since the 2022 Miami Open after annihilating No. 10 seed Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-2 in Montreal.
Through her opening three matches at the Canadian Open, Svitolina was purely dominant as she didn’t drop a set. However, the Japanese four-time Grand Slam champion had a clear game plan and executed it to perfection.
In the first set, Osaka managed to three times break her rival. With two additional breaks in the second set, the former world No. 1 completed her routine straight-set win.
Once again, the Japanese’s serve worked exceptionally – she faced break points only in the seventh game of the first set and suffered her lone break of the match in that game.
For a place in the Montreal final, Osaka will battle against No. 16 seed Clara Tauson, who beat Madison Keys.
Osaka’s reaction to beating Svitolina
In her presser, the current world No. 49 was asked how she managed to tame in-form Svitolina.
“I mean, I never really care about the stats of the person I’m playing. I know that everyone is really tough. I mean, I’m fortunate. I played her a couple of times before, and I know that she’s one of the best fighters on tour, so I was just expecting a tough match,” the Japanese said.
Now, Osaka is set for a second meeting versus Tauson. Earlier this year, the former world No. 1 won the first set of their Auckland final before retiring due to an injury. The 27-year-old was asked whether something stood out about the Dane’s game from their first encounter.
“Honestly, I remember feeling like she was a little unconventional. I don’t remember why exactly I felt that way, but I think she had a really interesting game. I did watch her play Keys a little bit, but I was, like, warming up and stuff. I’ll be curious to see what happens,” Osaka recalled.
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