Karolina Pliskova gave Naomi Osaka a reality check on her return by storming to a 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 victory in a high quality second-round clash at the Brisbane International on Wednesday.
Aryna Sabalenka also reached the last 16, ramping up preparations for her Australian Open title defence with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Lucia Bronzetti. The Belarusian top seed will next face Danielle Collins or Zhu Lin.
Osaka had eased through her first tour match in 15 months on Monday after taking time out of the game to have a child but former World No. 1 Pliskova proved an altogether tougher prospect.
The contest started well for four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka after she banged down five aces to lock up the opening set in 37 minutes against her rusty-looking opponent, who had received a bye through the first round.
Pliskova found her rhythm in the second set, however, and although Osaka’s rock solid serve repeatedly got her out of trouble until the tiebreak, she was unable to prevent the Czech from levelling up the contest.
An early break allowed Pliskova to get her nose in front in the deciding set and she saved three break points in the next game to retain her advantage over her 26-year-old rival.
Naomi Osaka walks off the court after losing her match against Karolina Pliskova. | Photo Credit: TERTIUS PICKARD
That was as close as Osaka got and Pliskova showed the quality of her own serve to ease into the third round and a clash with third seed Jelena Ostapenko.
Osaka will take plenty of positives out of the contest, not least the 14 aces she pounded down, as she looks ahead to her return to Grand Slam action at the January 14-28 Australian Open, a tournament she won in 2019 and 2021.
“The week is definitely shorter than I wanted it to be, but overall it was a great match and I had a lot of fun,” said Osaka, who converted only two of 12 break point opportunities. “I saw the stats after and my break points could have been better. But I think other than that, we both played really well. So hopefully she says the same thing.”
Osaka said just being on the court was a “personal win” as she dealt with doubts a couple of weeks ago. “These two matches I’ve had proof that I’m doing okay and the year is just going to get better for me.”
In her first match of the year, Russian-born Kazakh Elena Rybakina, the Wimbledon champion in 2022, saved three break points in the second set en route to a clinical 6-4, 6-1 victory over local hope Olivia Gadecki.
Rybakina, who will be looking to improve on last year’s runner-up finish at the Melbourne Park, will next face Belgian Elise Mertens.
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