Naomi Osaka secured her fifth victory over a Top 20 player since returning from maternity leave at the start of the 2024 season by defeating ninth-seeded Ons Jabeur 6-3 6-1 at the National Bank Open in Toronto. Playing on her favorite surface, the hard-court specialist landed just 46% of her first serves but never faced a break point against the three-time Grand Slam runner-up.
“Everyone knows I really love hard courts. I wasn’t thinking too much. It was very instinctual,” Osaka said after the first-round match. “Honestly, when I play the best players, like Ons, I tend to play better.”
While Osaka’s first-serve percentage was subpar, Jabeur’s was even lower at 36%, and she was broken four times by Osaka. It’s worth noting that Jabeur withdrew from last week’s Mubadala Citi DC Open due to a shoulder problem.
Osaka now leads their head-to-head 2-0, having also defeated Jabeur in straight sets at the 2021 Australian Open.
This is Osaka’s first match win in Canada since 2019, when she reached the quarterfinals and lost to Serena Williams at this same tournament, then called the Rogers Cup.
In the second round, the world No. 95 Osaka will face Elise Mertens of Belgium. Osaka leads their career meetings…
