Naomi Osaka beats fourth seed Elise Mertens in Wimbledon warm-up

Japanese star Naomi Osaka (26) began her grass court season with an impressive performance on Tuesday, securing a straight-sets victory over fourth seed Elise Mertens (28) in the second round of the Libema Open. Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka took control early, breaking the Belgian player twice in the first set and maintaining a strong serve to win it 6-2.

The second set was more competitive, with both players holding serve until the 10th game.

A fortunate net cord and two powerful groundstrokes gave Osaka two match points, and she capitalized on the first to take the second set 6-4.

“I think it’s maybe four or five years since I last played on grass but I’m super excited to be here,” Osaka said after the match.

“I don’t really have much experience on grass but to be able to close it out in two is something I’m very happy about,” added the Japanese player.

Osaka, currently ranked 125th in the world, has never advanced past the third round at Wimbledon, with her four Grand Slam titles coming on hard courts in Melbourne and New York.

Her next opponent in Hertogenbosch will be either Bernarda Pera from the United States or Suzan Lamens from the Netherlands.

Osaka appeared relaxed, dancing to the music during changeovers and sharing jokes with her team in the stands.

“I tried to play every point as well as I can and hopefully that will take me further and further. I guess I’m really happy… It was a really nice atmosphere,” she said.

Playing in only her second Grand Slam since giving birth to her daughter last July, Osaka came close to dethroning Iga Swiatek in the French Open second round.

World number one Swiatek went on to win her third consecutive title at Roland Garros, but Osaka provided her with the toughest challenge she faced on clay.

“My match against Iga was really amazing for me even to play. I just need to play tighter matches like that because I felt like I was playing well,” she said.