Naomi Osaka, the Osaka tennis player, beat top seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) on centre court. The win sends Osaka into her first-ever Wimbledon quarter-final and removes the top seed from the draw.
Osaka and Sabalenka
Osaka took the first set 6-2 and kept control long enough to force a second-set tie break after the score reached 6-6. She closed that breaker 7-2 after Sabalenka had won 21 grand slam tie breaks in a row before this match.
The finish came with pressure on both sides. Osaka had five match points before she converted the second one, while Sabalenka left the court with a brief wave after the match.
Sabalenka in SW19
The result turned a tight second set into the deciding stretch of the match. Osaka’s 7-2 tie break broke Sabalenka’s streak and delivered the kind of margin that decides a major match without needing a third set.
Osaka also gave the crowd a direct reason for the reaction after the final point. She said, “I think it was a really fun match. For me this court is so special, this is the first match I have won on this court. It means a lot, thank you guys so much. I appreciated the atmosphere.”
For Osaka, the quarter-final place is the key change. She has now won on centre court and advanced deeper than before at Wimbledon, with the next opponent not stated in the source.
