Naomi Osaka battles past Caroline Garcia at Australian Open 2025
What's the story
Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka has defeated Caroline Garcia in the opening round of the 2025 Australian Open. The win comes a year after Garcia ended Osaka's return to Grand Slam tennis after her maternity leave. The match was a nail-biter, lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes, with Osaka winning with scores of 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Rivalry record
Osaka now leads head-to-head against Garcia
With this win, Osaka has now taken a 3-2 lead in her head-to-head record against Garcia. The two have met thrice at the Australian Open, with the wins alternating since their first meeting in 2021. In that match, Osaka had registered a convincing 6-2, 6-3 win on her way to clinching her second title in Melbourne.
Details
Match stats and H2H record
Both players doled out aces each. Osaka committed three double faults with Garcia committing none. Osaka had a 70% win on the 1st serve and a 63% win on the 2nd. She converted 4/6 break points. In terms of the H2H record, Osaka has raced to a 3-2 lead over Garcia. The pair met three times last season. Garcia won two times.
Upcoming challenge
Osaka to face Muchova in next Australian Open match
Osaka's next challenge at the Australian Open comes in the form of Karolina Muchova, another player who defeated her in a Grand Slam match last year. Muchova, the No. 20 seed and 2021 semifinalist, recently outplayed Nadia Podoroska with an impressive 6-1, 6-1 victory in just 61 minutes. The head-to-head record currently favors Muchova over Osaka with a score of 2-1.