Osaka breezes through first match and speech in Tokyo

Sep 19, 2018
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Osaka breezes through first match and speech in Tokyo

Published Sep 19, 2018

Just 10 days after winning the US Open, Noami Osaka scored a critical win in Tokyo over Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-1 in 59 minutes. Cibulkova was no easy task for the 20-year-old, having been a member of the Top 10 as recently as last year.

But Osaka showed no signs of a dip in form after achieving her childhood dream of winning a Grand Slam. In front of a home crowd, the first Japanese player to win a major showed off pristine game and then her language skills.

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Before play got underway, the history-making big hitter was given a hero's welcome in Tokyo.

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Osaka is the No. 3 seed at the Premier WTA event.