Tennis players have to face the same opponent time and again, building quite a rivalry between the two. The same is happening to Naomi Osaka, who has to face Caroline Garcia for the third time in the season.
The Japanese ace faced Garcia in the first round of the Australian Open and then in the Qatar Open. As Osaka took a break from tennis, her ranking dropped likewise, placing her with the unseeded players. Due to this, she has a higher chance of facing Garcia yet again.
This will be their third meeting in three months, as Osaka opened up about her relationship with the latter in a humorous exchange with the press. When asked about facing the French again, Osaka humorously described their relationship as “work buddies.“
Man, we're friends at this point. We're just, you know, work buddies. We see each other all the time. It's funny. I just want to be seeded so I can just stop playing her, like, Said Osaka via Miami Open press.
The audience will witness their newfound camaraderie yet again as their head-to-head rivalry undergoes a major change. Caroline Garcia took her first win at the Australian Open, but the Japanese bounced back soon after, matching the scoreboard.
Naomi Osaka storms past Elina Svitolina to play Caroline Garcia yet again
All eyes were on Naomi Osaka, who made a comeback to tennis after a prolonged break. Though she started the season on a quiet note, the 2-time Australian Open champion soon gained confidence in her game as she had a deeper run with every tournament.
Her recent win came against Elina Svitolina at the Miami Open. It was another enormous victory for Osaka, who registered a Top-15 win. Tough, the Ukrainian, made a decent attempt at a comeback, she was no match for the sort of form the Japanese was in.
Soon, Osaka beat Svitolina in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6(5), to fix a matchup with Garcia in the third set.
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