(Reuters) – Naomi Osaka put on a solid serving performance to beat Dayana Yastremska 6-3 6-1 at the Southern and Western Open on Tuesday and advance to the quarter-finals, where she will face Anett Kontaveit.
Osaka fired eight aces to Yastremska’s zero and needed just over an hour to dispatch the 20-year-old Ukrainian.
“The serve is a really important part of my game and I just need to tune it up,” said fourth seed Osaka, who was playing in just her second WTA singles match since the tour resumed.
“The percentage still wasn’t that high today so hopefully as I play more matches it’ll get better.”
Kontaveit booked her ticket to the quarter-finals after defeating Marie Bouzkova 6-3 6-3 earlier in the day.
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka continued her dominance over Alize Cornet, improving to 7-0 lifetime against the Frenchwoman with a hard fought 6-4 7-5 win to advance to the quarter-finals, where the Belarusian will meet either Ons Jabeur or Christina McHale, who play later on Tuesday.
The tournament is being played at Flushing Meadows in New York instead of Cincinnati due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
