BEIJING: Former top-ranked Naomi Osaka started the China Open with a routine 6-3, 6-2 victory over Lucia Bronzetti of Italy on Wednesday to mark her first match with new coach Patrick Mouratoglou in positive style.
The four-time Grand Slam champion was the headline act on the opening day and showed her class in closing out the first-round match against the 77th-ranked Italian player in 83 minutes.
Osaka, who claimed the 2019 China Open before COVID-19 and a WTA boycott of China over the wellbeing of Peng Shuai forced the cancelation of tournaments in China for four years, next plays Yulia Putintseva, a 21st-seeded player from Kazahkstan, in the second round.
The 26-year-old Osaka began training with Mouratoglou in the lead-up to the Asian swing of the women’s tour, after splitting with Wim Fissette following a disappointing second-round exit at the USOpen.
“I think I’m at a stage in my life that I don’t want to have regrets,” the Japanese star said Wednesday after her match. “I’d rather pull the trigger on something and — I don’t want to say ‘fail’ — but I feel like I really need to learn as much as possible in this stage of my career.”
“Patrick seemed like the guy with I guess the information that I wanted to learn from.”
After trading breaks in the first set, Osaka made the decisive break in the seventh game of the first set.
On the back of some big serving she increased the pressure in the second set, breaking Bronzetti twice more to seal victory.
Former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin progressed with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Ana Bogdan of Romania.
The 25-year-old Kenin, one of a record 15 American women in the draw in Beijing, next plays 12th-seeded Diana Shnaider in the second round.
American Taylor Townsend will join Kenin in the second round after beating Martina Trevisan 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, as will Katie Volynets who had a 7-5, 6-1 win over Dalma Galfi.
Another American, McCartney Kessler, lost in a tight match to China’s Zhang Shuai 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1).
Also, China’s Wang Xinyu beat Mai Hontama of Japan 6-1, 6-3 and Yuliia Starodubtseva defeated Laura Siegemund 6-4, 7-6 (3).
US Open champion and top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka begins her tournament in the second round on Friday against the winner of the match between Zarina Diyas and Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek, a winner of four WTA 1000 events this season, is not playing this week citing personal reasons.
The men’s tournament begins Thursday and is headlined by top-ranked Jannik Sinner and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, who accounted for all four Grand Slam titles this season.
Second-ranked Alexander Zverev said earlier in the week he would not be playing in Beijing as he recovers from an illness.
Japan Open
Second-seeded Hubert Hurkacz needed three sets to eventually subdue Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4 in the opening round of the Japan Open.
It was the 40th win of the season for the eighth-ranked Hurkacz, with the Polish player extending his head-to-head-record against the American to 3-0.
Matteo Berrettini started his campaign in Tokyo with a straightforward 6-3, 6-4 win over Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands.
The big-serving Italian fired seven aces and broke van de Zandschulp four times.
Former sixth-ranked Berrettini, now No. 45, could next play top-seeded Taylor Fritz in the second round. Fritz, who made his first Grand Slam final at the US Open this month, plays Frenchman Arthur Fils in his opening match on Thursday.
Mariano Navone of Argentina beat Italy’s Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-4.
