Naomi Osaka loses in Berlin to ‘tough opponent’ Qinwen Zheng, Katie Boulter withdraws from Birmingham Classic – Eurosport

Qinwen Zheng claimed an opening win at the Berlin Open after coming through an entertaining three-set first-round clash against Naomi Osaka.

The 21-year-old showed impressive maturity against the former world No. 1, as the tournament’s sixth seed set up a second-round clash with Katerina Siniakova.

Speaking after her 6-4 3-6 6-3 win, Zheng said: “It was really hard because I got four match points and she served really well. Naomi Osaka is a great player, who has a strong serve and works hard.

“This win means a lot and it’s never easy to play against her. I’ve played against her across all different surfaces: hard, clay, and now grass court.

“It’s a tough opponent to have in the first round, but I’m happy that I did my best today and to get my first win in this tournament in my third year.

“This year I had good preparation, and I’m really happy to win my first match in Berlin because this is one of my favourite countries as well.”

Zheng was the first player to break as a double fault from Osaka yielded the opportunity for her opponent to deliver a powerful forehand and land the first telling blow of the contest.

The Chinese No. 1 was in fine form after she forced Osaka into another unforced error for a first set point.

But Osaka resisted impressively to swat that away, as well as another chance for Zheng to draw first blood, as she took a hard-fought hold at 4-5 down.

However, Zheng eventually secured the first set after a delicate drop shot following 41 minutes of play.

Osaka responded well though and matched Zheng every step of the way before taking a crucial break lead 4-2 in the second set.

She drew level after drawing a long return from Zheng, as she held all of her service games to wipe out the Chinese player’s lead and take the match into a decider.

However, it was the world No. 8 who ultimately prevailed after taking an important break at 3-1 and would go onto win the match after a hard-fought hold in the ninth game.

This came after a fourth match point, as Osaka was defeated.

Katie Boulter was forced to retire from her round of 32 clash with Anhelina Kalinina at the Birmingham Classic.

The reason for Boulter’s withdrawal is not yet clear, but with Wimbledon fast approaching, it was a worrying sign for British tennis fans.