01 May,2022 07:58 AM IST | Madrid | AP
Naomi Osaka and Danielle Collins
Being more positive is paying off for former No. 1 Naomi Osaka early in her clay-court season. Osaka kicked off her clay campaign with a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win over qualifier Anastasia Potapova in the first round on the Madrid Open center court on Friday.
Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins won the last eight games to advance 7-5, 6-0 over Monica Puig, the Olympic gold medallist in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Puig is returning to action following shoulder and bicep surgeries.
The Puerto Rican has appeared in only four matches since her first major surgery in 2019.
Another American to advance was 12th-seeded Jessica Pegula against Camila Giorgi, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5. Madison Keys was eliminated by fourth-seeded Maria Sakkari 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-4.
ALSO READ
Swiatek survives scare, Osaka weeps
US Open: Naomi Osaka gets her first top-10 win in more than four years by defeating Ostapenko
US Open: Naomi Osaka gets her first top-10 win in more than four years by defeating Ostapenko
Naomi Osaka loses to Angelique Kerber in the first round of the Paris Olympics
Rising above issues
Seventh-seeded Garbine Muguruza, one of the home-crowd favourites in the Spanish capital, defeated Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-2, while Leylah Fernandez, the US Open runner-up, beat Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.
In a match between 19-year-olds, wild card Marta Kostyuk beat Clara Tauson 6-3, 6-2.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever