“It feels like a dream,” Naomi Osaka beats Diane Parry to earn first win at Wimbledon since 2018

Naomi Osaka has won only four main-draw matches at Wimbledon so far, the fewest in all the four Grand Slam events.

“It feels like a dream,” Naomi Osaka beats Diane Parry to earn first win at Wimbledon since 2018

Naomi Osaka (Via Imago)

Naomi Osaka continued her encouraging grass season by beating French Diane Parry in the opening round of Wimbledon. The Japanese was in dreamland after earning their first victory at SW19 in 2018.

Coming into Wimbledon, Osaka had won just four main-draw wins at the grass major event, her lowest total of the four Grand Slam events. The last time she played at Wimbledon was in 2019 when she lost in the first round against Yulia Putintseva. And the last time she earned a win at the All England Club was in 2018, when she reached the third round of the tournament.

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Osaka was the second favorite against World No.53 Diane Parry, but the former World No.1 showed resilience for most of the match. She was on a break on separate occasions in the third set before mounting on Parry’s error to win 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in an hour and 32 minutes to book a place in the second round of Wimbledon.

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During her on-court interview, Osaka admitted she was excited about winning her opening match and also appreciated fans who cheered her to victory.

It feels like a dream. I know I haven’t played here many times. I’m so grateful you guys came and cheered. I hope the match was really fun for everyone to watch. I’m really excited to be here. It’s funny because Wimbledon was the first tournament I watched since pregnancy. My daughter is turning 1 tomorrow. I’m really glad to be here.
Naomi Osaka said

Osaka reached her first grass-court quarterfinals a few weeks ago at the Nottingham Open but eventually lost narrowly to fellow former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in a third-set tiebreak.

Naomi Osaka stays positive despite her tough season

The Japanese has won only three and lost two matches on grass this season. She was hoping to continue in her good Nottingham Open form but lost in the opening round of the Berlin Ladies Open.

Naomi Osaka (via Imago)

One of Osaka‘s best performances of the season was against Iga Swiatek at the French Open, but she eventually lost in the third set to the World No.1.

It’s not the most natural thing for me to do. I’m a little bit of a downer on myself. I’m really trying to stay positive.
Naomi Osaka said during her on-court interview.

Osaka will play the winner between No.19 seed Emma Navarro and Chinese Wang Qiang in the second round of Wimbledon.

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