Naomi Osaka beat France’s Clara Burel in straight units within the Italian Open first spherical on her first look on the event since 2021.
Former world primary Osaka received 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 towards Burel, who’s ranked forty fifth on the planet.
It was Osaka’s first win towards a top-50 opponent on clay since beating Victoria Azarenka on the French Open in 2019.
The 26-year-old, who gave beginning to her first daughter final yr, will face nineteenth seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine within the second spherical on Thursday.
In the meantime, Britain’s Dan Evans should wait to tackle Italy’s Fabio Fognini within the males’s competitors after his first-round tie on Wednesday was cancelled because of inclement climate in Rome.
Japan’s Osaka, now ranked at 173 on the planet, completed the 84-minute match with 27 winners, together with eight aces.
“I clearly performed rather a lot higher within the second set,” she stated.
“I am hoping that once I play my match tomorrow, I will be taught from the errors that I did right this moment and apply them higher.”