By Alberto Amalfi | Sunday, September 22, 2019
Naomi Osaka did not face a break point overpowering Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-2, 6-3, to capture her second title of the season at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Photo credit: Toray Pan Pacific Open Facebook
There's no place like home.
In the city of her birth, Naomi Osaka crafted championship rebirth.
More: Roger, Rafa Relish Coaching Each Other
The top-seeded Osaka did not face a break point overpowering Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-2, 6-3, to capture her second title of the season at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Osaka.
"I just wanted to win this really bad," said Osaka, who split with coach Jermaine Jenkins earlier this month.
A dominant Osaka did not face a break point in a 69-minute triumph breezing to her first title since she won the Australian Open in January.
It is Osaka's fourth career title and her first on home soil following runner-up finishes at the 2016 and 2018 Toray Pan Pacific Open when the tournament was played in Tokyo.
The top-seeded Osaka broke in the second game then confirmed the break at love rolling to a 3-0 lead. Osaka broke again in seizing a one-set lead.
The 41st-ranked Russian fell in the final for the second time in three years following her 2017 final loss to Caroline Wozniacki.
World No. 4 Osaka, who had a first-round bye, did not drop a set in tournament wins over qualifier Viktoriya Tomova, Yulia Putintseva, Elise Mertens and Pavlyuchenkova.