Osaka beats Garcia in first round of Qatar Open

Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka returned to her winning ways as she defeated No. 15 seed Caroline Garcia 7-5, 6-4 in the first round of the Qatar Open, a WTA 1000 event.

Osaka avenged her first-round loss to Garcia at the Australian Open earlier this year with her 1-hour and 28-minute victory on Monday night, which was Osaka's first Grand Slam final since her maternity leave began in late 2022. Slam was present.

In the second round, Osaka will face Petra Martic of Croatia. Martic, a former top 15 player, defeated Dutchwoman Arantxa Roos 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(5) in a three-hour clash.

Osaka won her first match of her comeback this season in Brisbane against Tamara Korpatsch, but lost the next three matches in a row.

She is now back on track with her first win over a top 50 player since defeating Belinda Bencic at the Miami Open in March 2022.

Osaka said, I think I am a much better player now. I think my return in Australia was not as good and I don't think I was as focused as before.

I think it definitely made a difference, especially against a good server like them.