MIAMI (REUTERS) - A dominant Naomi Osaka beat German 13th seed Angelique Kerber 6-2 6-3 on Thursday (March 24) in a one-sided clash of two former world number ones to reach the third round of the Miami Open where Garbine Muguruza and Simona Halep withdrew with injuries.
Four-times Grand Slam champion Osaka made a strong start against Kerber, grabbing an early break to go 2-0 up and never looked back in a 29-minute opening set during which she won 91% of her first-serve points.
Osaka denied Kerber any chance of fighting her way back into the match as she capitalised on her serve and had total control of her game as she went on to close out the 60-minute encounter on her third match point when her opponent sent a forehand long.
The victory was Osaka's first against Kerber since the 2017 US Open and denied her opponent a fifth consecutive win in their head-to-head series, which the German now leads 4-2.
It also marked Osaka's first win over a top-20 player since last year's Miami Open.
"She's like the first high-seeded player I've beaten this year. I went into the match just really wanting to play my game and I still have memories of all the matches she's beaten me before," Osaka said during her on-court interview.
"I feel like I came into the match wanting to dictate and actually I wanted to come into the net if I needed to ... that's something I'm practising and hopefully as I keep playing it will get better." Up next for Osaka, who arrived in Miami following a second-round loss at Indian Wells where she was reduced to tears after being heckled during the match, will be unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova, who beat US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-4 7-6(3).
Spanish seventh seed Muguruza, who was supposed to face qualifier Lauren Davis in the second round, withdrew with a shoulder injury and said she hopes to be ready for claycourt action in Madrid in late April.
Earlier on Thursday, 21st seed Halep withdrew ahead of her second-round match against Australian wild card Daria Saville due to a leg injury the former world number one said would keep her out of action for three weeks.
"I had been struggling with the thigh since my semi-final in Indian Wells and hoped it would improve, but I went for an MRI last night and unfortunately it showed a tear," twice Grand Slam champion Halep wrote on Twitter.
