Tokyo: US Open champion Naomi Osaka continued her golden run as she stormed past Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-3 Saturday to reach the final of the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament. She will face Karolina Pliskova in the summit clash Sunday.
Osaka’s victory in front of an expectant home crowd was her 10th in a row and did not look in doubt from the moment the World No.7 pounded down a huge ace with her first serve of the match.
The 20-year-old, who became Japan’s first Grand Slam singles champion in New York two weeks ago, hit a further eight aces to overwhelm World No.37 Giorgi who made eight double-faults and wrapped up the victory in just 72 minutes.
A runner-up at this event two years ago, Osaka has not dropped a set so far this week and has had her service broken just once.
“It’s a bit surprising but I felt kind of calm going into the first round match and a lot of people were surprised because they thought I would be very nervous,” Osaka told reporters after the match.
“Today was the first match that I felt nervous. But other than that I feel like I’ve been playing well and I’ve been trying to set little goals for myself. I’m trying to stay at a consistent level so hopefully I can keep doing that.”
Osaka’s rival in the final Pliskova, on the other hand defeated Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in a topsy-turvy encounter that lasted more than two hours.
The big-serving Czech has spent more time on court than any other player at this tournament despite a first round bye and was once again dragged into a long contest by a dogged Vekic.
The former World No.1 started as if intent on finishing the contest as quickly as possible, storming to a 4-0 lead before wrapping up the first set in less than half an hour.
Vekic, though, had defeated top 10 players Sloane Stephens and Caroline Garcia en route to the last four and recovered from an early break in the second set to secure two of her own.
A weary-looking Pliskova dug deep in the decider and the quality of her superior hitting eventually told as she broke Vekic’s resolve with a strong start to the third set.
“I think Sunday is a completely different day,” said Pliskova, who admitted to feeling tired during the second set. “It’s the final, so you just forget about all those minutes that you spent on the court. It’s the last match also, so I just want to put in everything, what I have left in body.”
“I have played Pliskova twice already and so I know she is a great player,” said Osaka, who won their last meeting at Indian Wells.