Naomi Osaka is hoping her success last year in Montreal, where she finished runner-up to Victoria Mboko, will translate as the WTA’s 1000 event in Canada shifts to Toronto.
The four-time Grand Slam champion from Japan is coming off a semi-final run on the hard courts of Washington, where she fell to eventual champion Alexandra Eala of the Philippines.
“I did better than last year in DC, so I’m just hoping to keep the ball rolling,” Osaka said. “I haven’t historically played super, super well here, so I’m just hoping to change that this year.”
Osaka, seeded 11th, will open against Hungary’s Panna Uvardy. She is in the same quarter as second-seeded Elena Rybakina and could face fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva in the fourth round.
Osaka earned the last of her four major titles at the 2021 Australian Open and has yet to regain those heights after maternity leave, but she reached the US Open semi-finals last year and a career-best quarter-final at Wimbledon this year.
Source: arynews.tv
