Japanese star Naomi Osaka continued her fantastic start to 2021 with a 23rd consecutive winning match to move into the quarter finals of the Miami Open. Osaka was always in control of her contest with 16th seed Elise Mertens winning 6-3 6-3. She is now unbeaten since winning the US & Australian Open titles and is only the fifth woman since 2000 to win 23 matches in a row.
World number one Ashleigh Barty also progressed defeating Victoria Azarenka in a thrilling 6-1 1-6 6-2 encounter. The Australian was playing her first overseas tournament in over a year due to the coronavirus pandemic and is the tournament’s defending champion. She is scheduled to meet seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka in the next round.
The highly respected tennis tournament is welcoming fans back as we begin to move out of the pandemic. Spectators are allowed to access to the three top courts where reserved seating ensures social distancing measures can be satisfied. After the Australian Open hosted limited capacity crowds in February fans will be hoping that the trend continues as we move closer to Grand Slam tournaments in Paris & Wimbledon in the coming months.