Osaka powers past Kasatkina to reach Wimbledon fourth round for first time

LONDON -- No. 14 seed Naomi Osaka completed her career set of Grand Slam second-week showings in emphatic fashion on Friday, defeating Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-3 in just 65 minutes to reach the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time.

Osaka has now made the fourth round at least once at each major, and nine times in total: three times at the Australian Open (including two titles), once at Roland Garros, once at Wimbledon and four times at the US Open (including two titles). She is the 31st currently active player to accomplish this feat.

Osaka was up against one of those players -- former No. 8 Kasatkina, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2018, completed her set by reaching the 2025 Australian Open fourth round. This was the first meeting on grass between the two 1997-born rivals, and it followed the pattern previously set on hard and clay courts: Osaka now leads the head-to-head 4-0, and 8-1 in sets.

The former World No. 1 dominated with her power to take a 6-1, 3-1 lead, dropping just five points on serve in the first set. With her back to the wall, Kasatkina began to extend the rallies and make an impact with her forehand -- and one terrific lob -- to peg Osaka back to 3-3. But she was unable to sustain that momentum: Osaka came through a three-deuce tussle to break again for 4-3, and cruised to victory from there. 

More to come...