Australian Open tennis 2021 - Naomi Osaka cruises past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in opening match

ByJames Kilpatrick

Updated 08/02/2021 at 06:26 GMT

Naomi Osaka got her Australian Open campaign underway with her 15th win in a row. The 2021 Australian Open is live on Eurosport. Watch every match live and ad-free on the Eurosport app and eurosport.co.uk. You can download the Eurosport app for iOS and Android now. The opening Grand Slam of the season in Melbourne runs from February 8 until February 21.

The 2019 Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka is through to the second round with a comfortable 6-1 6-2 win over Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in one hour and eight minutes.

Osaka pulled out of the semi-final of the Gippsland Trophy with a shoulder niggle but showed no sign of injury in front of a smattering of spectators in the centre court terraces.

The Japanese third seed went into the opener on a 14-match winning streak dating back to February 2020. Eurosport's Mats Wilander expected pre-match for Pavlyuchenkova to be "tough" but the 23-year-old got off to a great start.

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The first set lasted 33 minutes as Osaka dominated on her serve as the experienced Pavlyuchenkova made plenty of unforced errors.

Highlights: Osaka gives up just three games against Pavlyuchenkova

• Australian Open 2021 order of play
• Australian Open LIVE

The second set was a slightly closer affair as Pavlyuchenkova played with more power and variety, but Osaka’s quality shone through. The Japanese player broke with a brilliant passing shot to go 2-1 up and never looked back, breaking again at 4-2 before securing the straight sets victory on her first match point.

Osaka will now face Caroline Garcia in the second round after she beat Polona Hercog in straight sets.

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“I was really nervous coming into the match," Osaka said post-match.

"I know I played her before and it was really tough. I just wanted to play well and thank everyone for coming. I’m really happy to see people in the stands. It’s been a bit lonely in New York so thank you guys.

"Here hopefully I do well but I’m just here to have fun.

“Physically I feel like everyone has had their body shocked coming in and playing matches suddenly after such a long break. I think we’re all getting used to it and everyone is just really happy to be here.”

The Australian Open is live on Eurosport. Watch every match live and ad-free on the Eurosport app and eurosport.co.uk. You can download the Eurosport app for iOS and Android now.

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