Osaka defeats Kasatkina to make Wimbledon round of 16

Naomi Osaka continued to make a statement at ⁠Wimbledon as ⁠she paired her flair off the court with growing confidence on it to dismiss unseeded Australian Daria ⁠Kasatkina 6-1 6-3 on Friday and reach the last 16 for the first time.

Widely regarded as one of ⁠tennis’s top fashion trailblazers, Osaka has attracted plenty of attention for eye-catching dresses in the first week, but the four-times Grand Slam champion from Japan is increasingly letting her tennis do ‌the talking.

After shedding another variation of her “Kill Bill” kimono walk-on ensemble – which this time was a flower-patterned robe – the 14th seed mixed power with precision to see off Kasatkina and continue her best run at the All England Club.

The 28-year-old fired a backhand winner to ⁠break Kasatkina in the second game and ⁠then backed it up with a deep forehand to secure a double break as she raced through the first set on a sun-drenched Court ⁠One.

Osaka, who reached her first tour-level grass court final at Bad Homburg before retiring ⁠injured, showed she could be a ⁠force in the second week of Wimbledon as she brawled after squandering an early lead in the second set to raise two match points.

She finished ‌the second one in style to book what promises to be an intriguing clash with world number one Aryna ‌Sabalenka ‌or former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko for a spot in the quarterfinals.