Montreal Momentum: Naomi Osaka dismantles Jelena Ostapenko in style, eyes quarterfinal spot

Naomi Osaka secured a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Jelena Ostapenko in a battle of Grand Slam champions in the third round of the Canadian Open. The Japanese star dominated the match from the start, capitalizing on her recent momentum to earn her third consecutive win and reach the Round of 16 in Montreal for the second time in her career.

The four-time Grand Slam champion was coming off a dramatic victory over 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova, where she saved three match points in the second set before an epic comeback gave her the win (4-6, 7-6, 6-3). Osaka is gaining new momentum in the WTA rankings and re-enters the top 40 for the first time since 2022.

This was one of the most anticipated matches of the day in Montreal, with Osaka showing growing confidence during the American hardcourt swing. Just one day before the tournament began, Osaka surprisingly announced the end of her 10-month partnership with coach Patrick Mouratoglou, with Tomas Wiztorowski—a former coach of Iga Swiatek and Agnieszka Radwańska—taking over on a trial basis for the week. So far, the results have been more than satisfactory.

First Set: Osaka capitalizes on Ostapenko's service errors

Things started in the best way for Osaka, who stood firm on serve early on and secured the first break in just the second game. Within minutes, the 27-year-old Japanese player was ahead 3-0, completely dominating.

Ostapenko’s reaction came when she managed to hold her service game for the first time and then secured a clean break in the fifth game. With the score at 3-2, the former French Open champion took her turn to serve, but she continued to be ineffective with both her first and second serves, winning less than 50% of the points on each.

Osaka exploited "Penko's" service problems and claimed two consecutive breaks, taking the set 6-2 after 30 minutes. The Latvian's errors had cost her dearly against an Osaka who looked focused on her serve for most of the set.

Second Set: Osaka closes it out despite late challenge from Ostapenko

The four-time Grand Slam champion began the second set with some difficulties, facing a couple of break points in the first game, but she managed to save them unscathed. Ostapenko, for her part, didn't improve her effectiveness much, though she showed more reliability on her first serve.

The conditions in Montreal have led several players to struggle with errors, which we saw in the middle of the set. Osaka got two consecutive breaks and Ostapenko managed to recover one, leaving the Japanese player with a 5-2 lead. It seemed all but over, but Penko didn't give up, saving a match point at 3-5 and recovering the break to close the gap to 4-5.

Nevertheless, Ostapenko's service issues were never fully resolved. Throughout the match, she won only 50% of points on her first serve and 37% on her second. It was precisely this that led to the decisive break for Osaka, who avoided a prolonged match and closed it out with a clean break, 6-2, 6-4, guaranteeing her spot in the fourth round.

Osaka's next rival

Osaka's next opponent will be decided between Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova and two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula, who are playing this afternoon. The Japanese star will be looking to reach a WTA 1000 quarterfinal for the first time since February 2024 at the Qatar Open, while she has already secured her return to the top 40 for the first time in over 3 years.

Match Statistics Osaka vs. Ostapenko