For the second consecutive year at a WTA 1000 event during the Sunshine Double, Naomi Osaka faced Liudmila Samsonova in the second round. Once again, former World No. 1 Osaka emerged victorious in straight sets.
Osaka defeated No. 24 seed Samsonova 6-2, 6-4 at the Miami Open presented by Itaú on Thursday night. The 2022 Miami Open finalist, Osaka, resisted a late push from her opponent to win the match in 1 hour and 22 minutes, mirroring her victory over Samsonova from Indian Wells last year.
Following a first-round defeat at Indian Wells this year, Osaka has regained momentum in Miami. She followed up her comeback win against Yuliia Starodubtseva with this victory over Samsonova. Osaka`s record for 2025 now stands at 8 wins and 3 losses.
Key Stats: Throughout almost the entire match, Osaka`s service games were dominant against Samsonova, ranked 21st, who had recently reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells the previous week.
Osaka secured 79 percent of her first-serve points and exactly three-quarters of her second-serve points in this powerful matchup. She also served six aces, slightly below her season average of 6.5 aces per match.
The four-time Grand Slam champion`s serving statistics could have been even more impressive, but she failed to close out the match at 5-3 in the second set, despite holding a match point on her opponent`s serve at 5-2. In that game, Samsonova earned her first break points of the match and broke back with a forehand winner, narrowing the score.
However, Osaka was equally strong on her return, winning 62 percent of points when receiving Samsonova`s second serve. She quickly recovered and broke serve to secure the match.
Wild Card Awaits: Osaka`s next opponent will be American wild card Hailey Baptiste, ranked No. 98. Baptiste achieved her third Top 20 victory earlier on Thursday with a thrilling 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 upset against No. 12 seed Daria Kasatkina.
Osaka and Baptiste previously played in the quarterfinals in Auckland earlier this year, during the first week of the season. Osaka won that match 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-2, on her way to becoming the runner-up to Clara Tauson in New Zealand.
Collins Begins Title Defense: No. 14 seed Danielle Collins, the defending WTA 1000 champion in Miami from last year, also advanced to the third round with a victory in the night session.
Collins defeated Romania`s Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 7-6(3) in Thursday`s last match on the stadium court. Collins maintains a perfect 3-0 record against Cirstea after this 1-hour and 40-minute victory.
Collins, a Florida resident, has consistently performed well in Miami, including a semifinal appearance in 2018 and a quarterfinal run in 2022, in addition to her 2024 title. By defeating Cirstea, Collins improved her Miami main-draw record to 19-5.
Collins`s next challenge in her title defense will be her first encounter with qualifier Rebeka Masarova from Switzerland. Masarova earlier on Thursday upset Donna Vekic 6-1, 6-3, securing her third Top 20 win of her career.
