Naomi Osaka speeds into second round of Australian Open

Melbourne [Australia], Jan 15 (ANI): Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka started her campaign during the ongoing Australian Open with a convincing victory over Magda Linette of Poland at the Rod Laver Arena here on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old, who is the reigning US Open champion, defeated her Polish counterpart 6-4, 6-2 in the match that lasted 58 minutes to advance to the second round of the tournament.
"I had a lot of fun. It is not often that I get to play a night match at Rod Laver Arena. For me, it was the first time. I didn't really feel nervous either, which was a bit unexpected; I thought that I would, being that it is the first match. I just felt like I had a lot of fun today," Australian Open quoted Osaka, as saying.
Winning 24 of 25 points behind her first serve, the match was firmly on the number five seed's racquet. However, Linette escaped the game with some solid serving, but it was a brief reprieve. From there, the Japanese dominated the game.
The world number four will next meet Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia in the second round.
"I have never really seen her (Tamara Zidansek) play. I think I need to watch a lot of matches tomorrow, just try to figure out what I am going to do. I am aware of people saying anyone in the top 10 can be number one right now," she said.
"But for me, that is not really my goal. I just want to play well in this tournament; I will see how my ranking is after. Rankings were never that much of a concern for me," Osaka concluded. (ANI)