Japan's World No. 1 Naomi overcomes abdominal pain to beat Slovakia's Cibulkova 6-2, 7-6 in tricky opener; says win comes as encouragement
Japan's Naomi Osaka returns to Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova in a Round-of-64 match at the Madrid Open yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
Naomi Osaka eased concerns about her form and fitness by coming through a tricky first round against Dominika Cibulkova at the Madrid Open yesterday. Osaka has struggled since splitting with her coach Sascha Bajin in February while an abdominal injury forced her to withdraw in Stuttgart eight days ago, creating doubts about her challenge at the French Open later this month.
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No pain
But there was little sign of physical problems during a testing 6-2, 7-6 victory over Cibulkova and afterwards, Osaka said: "I feel good. I don't have much pain in my abs so that's always a good sign." The Japanese will now face the winner of an all-Spanish tie between Lara Arruabarrena and Sara Sorribes Tormo in round two.
Dominika Cibulkova
Osaka looked set for a more comfortable passage after a dominant opening set but she was stretched by the battling Cibulkova in the second. By the end, Osaka had hit 43 winners to her opponent's 23.
If the abdominal injury has healed, Osaka can feel encouraged by her performance against Cibulkova, one of the tour's gutsiest competitors even if the Slovakian is also enduring a difficult start to 2019.
Halep cruises
Meanwhile, French Open champion and two-time Madrid winner Simona Halep brushed past Russian qualifier Margarita Gasparyan 6-0, 6-4. In another match, Karolina Pliskova saved five match points to see off Ukrainian teenager Dayana Yastremska 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
Pauline Parmentier of France defeated Ukrainian sixth seed Elina Svitolina, who had been struggling with a knee injury, 6-4, 7-6. US 13th seed Madison Keys was also a surprise first round loser, going down 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to Sorana Cirstea of Romania.
However, there were no such problems for former US Open champion Sloane Stephens as the eighth seed defeated Polona Hercog of Slovenia 6-2, 7-6. Australia's Nick Kyrgios was a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 loser to Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff, a quarter-finalist in Barcelona last month.
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