Naomi Osaka records 11th straight win to beat Petra Kvitova and open her WTA Finals campaign with victory after first clash between pair since Australian Open final
- Naomi Osaka beat Petra Kvitova 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 in her opening match of WTA Finals
- The Japanese star spurned two match points before recording the three-set win
- It was the first match between Osaka and Kvitova since the Australian Open final
Naomi Osaka extended her winning-streak to 11 matches after defeating Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4 in the first of three round-robin matches at this year’s WTA Finals on Sunday.
Osaka, the Australian Open champion, arrived in Shenzen having won the last two tournaments she played – in Osaka, Japan, and Beijing.
The two-time Grand Slam champion failed to take advantage of two match points when serving at 5-2 in the third, but nailed down the victory on a third match point when serving in the 10th game.
Naomi Osaka continued her fine run of form with a battling three-set win over Petra Kvitova
Kvitova surrendered the encounter when she sailed a backhand crosscourt wide on the final point.
The only other time Osaka played Kvitova took place when the Japanese player captured this year’s Australian Open final by a score of 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-4.
Osaka’s debut at the year-end final last year in Singapore ended in disappointment when she lost all three of her round-robin encounters.
The 29-year-old Kvitova, the oldest player in this year’s eight-player field, is competing in her seventh WTA Finals. She won the year-end title in her first appearance in 2011, and was also a finalist in 2015.
Osaka is now 1-0 and Kvitova 0-1 in Red Group round-robin action.
Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty of Australia and Belinda Bencic of Switzerland make their WTA Finals debuts playing each other in the next match on Sunday.
It took reigning Australia Open champion Osaka three match points before sealing the victory