Osaka storms to victory in Madrid opener to end long wait for win on clay

Naomi Osaka comprehensively dispatched Greet Minnen on Tuesday to make a winning start to her Madrid Open campaign and earn a first win on clay for two years.

Japanese star Osaka triumphed 6-4 6-1 in only 79 minutes, swiftly booking a second-round clash against Liudmila Samsonova.

Osaka reached the last 32 at the WTA 1000 events on the hard courts of Indian Wells and Miami but had lost to Martina Trevisan at the first hurdle in the Open de Rouen on clay at WTA 250 level last week.

This was therefore a welcome return to form against Belgian qualifier Minnen and represented her first triumph on the surface since beating Anastasia Potapova at this tournament in 2022.

After an even start to the contest, the first set was level at 4-4. But Osaka then assumed full control, winning eight of nine games to race to victory.

2 - This was only the second career WTA clay court match for Naomi Osaka without a single game dropped on serve after the Round of 16 in Stuttgart 2019 vs Su Wei Hsieh. Hammer.#MMOPEN | @WTA @WTA_insider

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) April 24, 2024

Data Debrief: Osaka dominates on serve

Osaka was not broken at all in the match and allowed Minnen only one break-point opportunity across the whole contest.

She fired down eight aces to only three double faults, and won 13 of her 16 first-serve points in the second set.