Osaka ousts Kostyuk to set up Kasatkina clash

Naomi Osaka continued her winning return to Rome by seeing off Marta Kostyuk in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday to set up a third-round clash with 10th-seed Daria Kasatkina.

Japan’s Osaka beat Russian Kasatkina in the pair’s only other meeting, when Osaka won the 2018 Indian Wells final.

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Osaka breezed past Kostyuk to claim her first ever win over a top 20-ranked opponent on clay, a day after she made her Foro Italico comeback after a three-year absence.

The former world number one is ranked 173 in the world after taking a break from the tour to have her first child but looked a class above Kostyuk, winning the rain-interrupted match in 71 minutes.