Melbourne – Reigning champion Naomi Osaka crashed out in the third round of the Australian Open on Friday, with No. 60 Amanda Anisimova pulling off a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10-5) upset.
It was the first meeting between the four-time Grand Slam winner and Anisimova, who will face Australian world No. 1 Ash Barty for a place in the quarterfinals.
Barty breezed past Camila Giorgi in just over an hour to punch her ticket for the fourth round.
Barty, who is trying to end Australia’s 44-year wait for a homegrown champion, was in dominant form in her 6-2, 6-3 victory over the Italian at Rod Laver Arena.
After an early break, the 25-year-old Wimbledon champion fended off three break points to go ahead 5-2 in the opening stanza and then broke Giorgi to seal the set.
A break for 4-2 put Barty in charge of the second set and three games later she was bathing in the applause from the crowd after securing her spot in the last 16 for the fourth straight year.
“I thought tonight was really clean, I looked after my service games really well,” Barty said.
“I was able to keep the momentum going, make returns when it mattered most at the important moments, pretty good performance I think.”
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KEYWORDS
Naomi Osaka, Amanda Anisimova