On June 12, local time, Naomi Osaka advanced to the quarterfinals of the WTA 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch with a victory over Lammers. The former world No. 1 from Japan will face Bianca Andreescu later tonight in a clash between the 2018 US Open champion and the 2019 US Open titlist. This marks their second career meeting on the WTA Tour.
Their previous encounter took place in the quarterfinals of the 2019 China Open, where Osaka fought back from a set down to defeat Andreescu 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, ending the Canadian’s 17-match winning streak.
In her post-match interview after the second round, Osaka said, “I remember, I know it’s true, she’s a great player. It feels really cool that we’re facing each other again this year. We’re both kind of coming back, finding our form, so it’s really interesting.”
“I expect it to be a really tough match. For me, she’s a very interesting opponent because she can do a lot of different things in the match, like change her game or her positioning.”
Discussing playing against Grand Slam champions, Osaka expressed her enjoyment of such high-level contests: “I definitely believe that matches like these help me improve a lot. It’s really weird because when I think about playing Iga [Swiatek], it’s kind of crazy for me because I’m not sure if I knew I could play at that level. I always felt like I had it in me, but I guess I needed a moment to bring it out.
“So, matches against opponents like Bianca are the ones I enjoy and what I train for, and I hope it will be an exciting one for everyone watching.”
The quarterfinal clash between the two is set to begin no earlier than 9:00 PM Beijing time tonight, with the winner advancing to face Martina Trevisan, who earlier reached her second career WTA semifinal by defeating Krunic 7-5, 6-3.