By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday September 6, 2020
Naomi Osaka won convincingly against Anett Kontaveit, never facing a break point en route to a straight-sets win.
Photo Source: USTA
Naomi Osaka moved past Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit 6-3 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals at the US Open for the second time, and the first time since she won the 2018 title.
The No.4 seed was in very crisp form on Sunday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, and was able to overcome a very stern challenge from the No.14 seed by protecting her serve to perfection.
Osaka won 27 of 32 first-serve points and never faced a break point in the 72-minute contest, as she improved to 4-0 lifetime against Kontaveit and booked a quarterfinal clash with unseeded American Shelby Rogers.
It was a high-octane clash between two premier ball strikers and Osaka, thanks to pinpoint serving and her booming forehand, was able to dictate tone and tempo and eventually find a way to get past the No.14 seed in straight sets.
Earlier on Day 7, World No.93 Rogers defeated Petra Kvitova in a classic battle on Armstrong that saw her save four match points before grinding out the win in a third-set tiebreaker.
Rogers saved three match points while serving at 4-5 and then another with Kvitova serving at 6-5 in the third set tiebreaker, when she double-faulted.
“To get that double-fault there in the breaker, a little luck was on my side today I think,” Rogers said. “I just kept trying to hang in there and defend her balls, take care of my serve there in the third after I got broken. Thankfully somehow got it done.”
Rogers has won all three of her previous meetings with Kvitova, with two of them coming at the ITF level.
Osaka moved well and said she was happy about the status of her left hamstring, which has been a cause of concern for her ever since she was forced to pull out of the Cincinnati final last weekend.
“I came here to test myself against the best players in the world. I wanted to see if the training that I did for the six months was good enough. I'm still here, so I'm very happy about that,” Osaka said.