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Tuesday afternoon's second round match at the Bad Homburg Open between fifth-seed Emma Navarro and Naomi Osaka was a matchup of two players struggling to find consistency.

Navarro had not won two consecutive matches since the Charleston Open in April. Meanwhile, Osaka suffered a first-round exit in Berlin but was coming off a big win over Olga Danilovic yesterday.

Osaka showed off her power throughout the match, racking up 24 winners to Navarro's nine winners. The Japanese superstar also tallied nine aces and three double faults. She landed 59% of her first serves, winning points on 61% and 52% of her first and second serves, respectively.

However, Osaka also sprayed 42 unforced errors to Navarro's 16 unforced errors. Additionally, the American star was 3/9 on break points compared to Osaka's 1/4 in break point opportunities.

Osaka is currently the WTA World No. 59, with a record of 18-9. The four-time Grand Slam champion will have one week before her grass court season culminates at Wimbledon.

Navarro has recently sunk to No. 10 but improved to 21-15 after today's win. She will face her friend and former Olympic teammate Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals on Thursday, June 26.

During her post-match interview, Navarro joked about concealing her game plan from Pegula before praising her mentor. "I can't say too much. I think I'm playing Jess next round, and she might be listening from the hotel, so I can't give away too much."

"Jess is awesome. She's been a really great role model for me coming up," said Navarro. She added, "She brings a great energy to the tour. She's very chill, very relaxed, and very smart as well. So, I have a lot to learn from her."

This article first appeared on Serve on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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