BRISBANE, Australia (AP) Naomi Osaka got an extended workout in her opening match at the Brisbane International, just two weeks away from the defense of her Australia Open title.
Osaka defeated Greeces Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-3 today to set up a second-round match with American Sofia Kenin.
The two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 took more than two hours and had 16 aces to beat Sakkari.
In other matches today, eighth-seeded Madison Keys beat Czech qualifier Maria Bouzkova 6-2, 6-3. Keys will now face local favorite Samantha Stosur in the second round.
Sams always tough, Keys said. I think shes beaten me every time we have played. Its also hard to play someone who is going to be playing at home and have the crowd and all that.
Russian qualifier Liudmila Samsonova had the upset of the tournament so far by defeating American Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
In later matches, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 and American qualifier Jennifer Brady beat wild-card entry Maria Sharapova 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4).
