Pliskova ends Osaka comeback, but promising signs in Brisbane

No 16 seed Karolina Pliskova reached the last 16 of the Brisbane International by edging out Japanese wildcard Naomi Osaka 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 on Wednesday night.

Osaka was playing for the first time since giving birth to a daughter in July, having claimed her first win in 15 months yesterday. All signs were pointing towards the former Australian Open champion’s comeback continuing to gather momentum, as the 26-year old won the first set 6-3.

However, a spirited effort by No 39 Pliskova saw the second set go to a tiebreak, which the Czech won. She then finished the stronger of the two, claiming the deciding set thanks to one break of serve. In a match of the highest quality, Osaka’s only downfall was her ability to capitalise on break points, winning just 2/12, compared to Pliskova’s 2/2.

Despite losing, Osaka will be thrilled at the level of play she’s produced here in Brisbane. Combined, Pliskova and Osaka struck 87 winners to just 36 unforced errors across the match.

Pliskova will play the winner of the match between Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, the No 3 seed, and Italian Camila Giorgi next. In the previous round, Naomi Osaka defeated German Tamara Korpatsch (6-3, 7-6 (9)).

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