Cincinnati (US) August 16 : China’s Zhang Shuai advanced to the second round of the Western & Southern Open with an 6-4, 7-5 victory over the 2020 finalist Naomi Osaka in 75 minutes on Tuesday. The result put the match with three wins each.
Zhang had previously defeated Osaka in Tokyo 2016 and Madrid 2018 Tokyo in 2016 as well as Madrid in 2018, however Osaka was the winner of their first match after she was crowned an official Grand Slam champion, edging Zhang 3-4 7-5, 6-4, 3-6 in the 2018 Beijing quarterfinals.
Zhang had not beaten any major champion since the opening round of the 2020 Australian Open, where she defeated Sloane Stephens 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.Zhang, 33, has had an impressive season thus far but she also won her third title of her career in Lyon in February, and reaching the Birmingham final in June.
Word No 44 Zhang will next face Ekaterina Alexandrova when she hopes to make it to the third round in Cincinnati for the first time.
Osaka’s initial serve was hitting.She was a former World No.1 landed 10 aces for the fifth time in a row and the 34th time in all she has topped double figures on this front.However, a 53 percent first serve percentage wiped out this advantage and the remainder of her game was not up to the standard.
Osaka’s 21 winners weren’t matched by 29 errors that were not forced, and she scored just 37 percent of her second serve points.The 24-year-old couldn’t beat Zhang, with her forehand often breaking in the more lengthy baseline exchanges.
Zhang’s four aces are a way from Osaka’s total however, Zhang’s Chinese player utilized her serve more effectively.A first serve of 86 percent was a good percentage, but securing over 73 % of the points that came behind her initial and second serves was more important in keeping her momentum.
Zhang excelled in two-punches in particular, and she closed the opening set with two in two sets.
Osaka displayed glimpses of her greatest form when she played the second set 5-5 after trailing 5-3.She slammed some great backhands in order to break Zhang for the first time in.However, after bringing herself back to the mix, it was her backhand that fell her at 5-5, causing numerous of mistakes that saw her drop serve once more.
Serving for the second time, Zhang made no mistake in securing a love-hold with her fourth victory of the match.
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