Osaka reaches Wimbledon's last 16 for the first time

Naomi Osaka moved into the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time on Friday, beating Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-3 in a one-sided third-round match. Reuters reported that the win continued the 14th seed’s strongest run at the All England Club and put her one victory from the quarterfinals.

The four-time Grand Slam champion from Japan controlled the match with clean hitting and early pressure on Kasatkina, an unseeded Australian. Osaka broke in the second game with a backhand winner, then built a second break with a heavy forehand as she took charge of the opening set on Court One, according to Reuters.

Osaka has drawn attention during the first week of the tournament for her outfits, including variations of a “Kill Bill”-inspired kimono-style walk-on look. Reuters reported that she arrived for Friday’s match in a flower-patterned robe before shifting the focus to a performance built on power and accuracy.

The first set moved quickly in Osaka’s favor. Her early break gave her control of the scoreboard, and the second break left Kasatkina with little room to recover. Osaka closed the set 6-1 and kept enough pressure on in the second to avoid being pulled into a longer contest.

Reuters reported that Osaka lost an early advantage in the second set but fought back to create two match points. She converted the second to complete the victory and continue a run that follows her appearance in the Bad Homburg grass-court final, where she retired injured.

The result adds weight to Osaka’s grass-court form after a lead-in event that showed she could contend on the surface before the injury retirement. At Wimbledon, she has now reached the second week for the first time in her career.

Osaka’s next opponent will be either world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka or Jelena Ostapenko, a former French Open champion, Reuters reported. The winner of that match will face Osaka for a place in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.