Aus Open: Naomi Osaka in third round, TikTok helps Madison Keys

Defending champion Naomi Osaka overcame a second-set blip to beat American Madison Brengle 6-0 6-4 and reach the third round of the Australian Open, staying on course for a potential fourth-round clash with world number one Ash Barty.

The Japanese 24-year-old, who also won the Melbourne Park title in 2019, will next meet 60th-ranked American Amanda Anisimova with a mouthwatering clash against Australian Barty potentially waiting in the round of 16.

Brengle won just nine points in the first set as an aggressive Osaka served superbly, facing no breakpoints, and returned strong to breeze through the set in just 20 minutes.

The 54th-ranked Brengle, 31, had a big smile as the Rod Laver Arena crowd cheered her first service game win at the start of the second set as Osaka’s game dipped.

But the two-time US Open winner soon regained control and sealed the win after 65 minutes on her first match point with a second break of serve in the set.

TikTok helps Madison Keys as resurgence continues

Madison Keys stormed into the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-2 7-5 win over Jaqueline Cristian on Wednesday as the American continued her resurgence after a year in which she sank into a “dark pit of despair” and her ranking plummeted.

The former US Open finalist warmed up for the opening Grand Slam of the year with her first title since 2019 at the Adelaide WTA tournament last week and knocked out 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in her opener on Monday.

The former world number seven, who slipped to 87th in the rankings following a disappointing 2021, is aiming to improve on her semi-final finish at Melbourne Park seven years ago.

The American ran away with the opening set in 31 minutes and broke unseeded Romanian Cristian for a 6-5 lead in the next to seal the win that set up a clash with Wang Qiang after the Chinese player beat Alison Van Uytvanck 2-6 7-6(5) 6-3.

Keys, who missed the 2021 Australian Open due to Covid-19, had said after her match with Kenin that she had fond memories of her deep run at the major and hoped to have another.

She added that not taking things too seriously and avoiding putting pressure on herself had helped in her resurgence, while social media had also played a part.

“One of the first things that made me snap out of it was this girl on TikTok. Her name is ‘Tinx’. She’s constantly saying ‘comparison is the thief of joy’,” Keys said on Monday.

“It really made me change my perspective on comparing everything I’ve done and doing to everyone around me. It was just making me miserable.”

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.