Osaka, Zheng advance in Bad Homburg as former champion Shnaider falls

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, former world No. 5 Qinwen Zheng and Anna Kalinskaya were among the early first-round winners at the Bad Homburg Open on Monday, while French Open semifinalist Diana Shnaider suffered a straight-sets defeat.

Here are some key takeaways from the early action in Bad Homburg today:

Osaka wins rain-delayed match in straight sets

In a match carried over from Sunday because of bad weather, former world No. 1 Osaka opened her bid for a first career grass-court final with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Poland's Magdalena Frech.

The match was suspended with Osaka leading 5-4 in the opening set. When play resumed Monday, the Japanese player dominated, winning seven of the final eight games to seal the victory in 1 hour, 34 minutes.

A key statistic from the match was Frech winning just 21.4% of points on her second serve, compared with 60% for Osaka.

Osaka's best grass-court result remains her semifinal run in Nottingham in 2018, where she lost to eventual champion Ash Barty. She will next face either Elise Mertens or Alexandra Eala for a place in the quarterfinals.

Tauson knocks out former champion Shnaider

In a marquee first-round clash between two Top 25 players, world No. 25 Clara Tauson upset seventh-seeded Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-4 in 1 hour, 45 minutes.

The Dane converted four of her 10 break-point opportunities, while Shnaider, the 2024 champion, capitalized on only two of six chances.

The victory marked Tauson's first grass-court win of the season after opening-round exits in 's-Hertogenbosch and Berlin. It also snapped a seven-match losing streak for the Dane. Shnaider, meanwhile, heads into Wimbledon having lost both of her opening-round matches on grass this year.

The win leveled the head-to-head series at 1-1. Tauson will next face wild card Qinwen Zheng in the second round.

Zheng earns three-set victory over Sierra

Later in the day, Zheng earned a morale-boosting win over Argentine qualifier Solana Sierra to reach the second round.

Now ranked No. 153 after undergoing elbow surgery last July and playing only one tournament before February this year, Zheng needed 2 hours, 23 minutes to overcome Sierra 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

Tauson leads the head-to-head against Zheng 1-0, but this will be their first meeting on grass.

Kalinskaya, Wang also advance

In other first-round matches, Anna Kalinskaya defeated Austrian qualifier Sinja Kraus 6-4, 6-1 to reach the second round.

Kalinskaya will next face either fifth-seeded Linda Noskova, who won the Berlin Open on Sunday, or qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

China's Xinyu Wang also advanced, defeating lucky loser Renata Zarazua 6-1, 6-2. Wang will face Canada's Leylah Fernandez for a place in the last eight.