Naomi Osaka sees off Maria Sakkari challenge to advance in Brisbane

Japanese star Naomi Osaka came from a break down in the third set to overcome Greece’s Maria Sakkari in the first round of the WTA Brisbane International on Tuesday.

Naomi Osaka of Japan plays a shot during her match against Maria Sakkari of Greece.(AP)

Two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka began her 2020 season with a 6-2 6-7(4) 6-3 win over Maria Sakkari in the opening round of the Brisbane International on Tuesday.

Osaka fired 16 aces and broke her Greek opponent four times in the two hour, seven minutes encounter, but struggled in the second set tiebreak when Sakkari won five points in a row before squaring the match on an unforced error from the Japanese.

The pair traded breaks in the opening stages of the final set before former world number one Osaka clinched victory, despite double faulting on her first match point.

“I knew going into it that it was going to be a really hard match,” Osaka said. “I think in the second set I was just complaining a lot in the tiebreak. I was just trying to calm down and stay positive.”

Former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, 24th in the WTA rankings, fell at the first hurdle to Liudmila Samsonova, who is ranked more than 100 places below her. The 129th ranked Russian won 6-4 2-6 6-3.

Stephens’ compatriot and eighth seed Madison Keys advanced with a 6-3 6-2 win over the Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova.

Maria Sharapova will play Jennifer Brady later on Tuesday in her first match since exiting last year’s U.S. Open in the first round.