Looking to get season on track, Halep fights off teen Osaka in Miami

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Welcome to Florida Week! As the tours head southeast for the Miami Open, TENNIS.com and Baseline will feature all things Sunshine State. You’ll learn about the personalities, stories, teams and venues that have made Florida one of the tennis capitals of the world. We’ll also be reporting from the Miami Open in Key Biscayne.

As you’ll learn this week, when it comes to tennis, Florida isn’t just a state—it’s a state of mind.

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla.—Stadium Court at the Miami Open had all the makings of an upset when Naomi Osaka faced off against Simona Halep on a windy Friday. Despite two rain delays and a splitting of sets, the third-seeded Halep squeaked out the win, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Osaka, ranked No. 49, plays like someone ranked far higher, with huge ground strokes off both wings and an often unreturnable serve.

“Her game is strong, and she likes the ball next to her and she likes to hit,” Halep said. “But the wind was moving the ball a lot … So that's why I was expecting her to play not like she's playing normally, but she did very well.”

Osaka put on enough of a power show for the both of them on Friday. Let’s put it this way: When asked if she can handle the big hitters on tour, the 19-year-old said simply, “I think I’m one of them.”

But Halep is the more experienced and steadier player, and she stayed calmest and raised her level when it mattered most. Osaka, on the other hand, has to work on settling down.

She said so herself ahead of the match.

“This year I've been trying really hard to not lose to players that are lower ranked than me, because last year I was very inconsistent with that,” Osaka said. “So I really try to take the time to focus on what I'm supposed to do. I'm trying not to freak out that much.”

Yes, Halep is ranked considerably higher than her at No. 5, but Osaka certainly had her chances. After dropping the first set, she went on a roll, jumping to a 4-0 lead in the second set. She even hit an ace on set point, sending a clear message.

“I think there's more people that sort of know who I am now because last year I was kind of new,” Osaka said. “I feel like this year I'm still kind of new, but I'm a little bit more of a familiar face to the veteran players.”

But the Romanian would not go lightly into the cloudy South Florida sky. She bore down, weathering the Osaka storm, while matching her more and more with winners of her own. Despite holding the 3-2 edge, Osaka would drop the final three games of the match by being broken twice.

Despite the difference in stature—Osaka is six inches taller than Halep—and game styles, Halep hit three more winners than Osaka and two less unforced errors.

“She was very strong [in the second],” Halep said. “I think I did my best in the third set this year—I played, I think, my best tennis.”

While Halep is lucky to get through Osaka again—their only previous meeting was a three-set win for Halep at the 2016 French Open—she may not be so lucky next time. Osaka has been one of the fastest-rising teens for some time, and she’s almost certainly here to stay.

“She's very young and I think her potential is big,” Halep said. “She will be a very good player at the top. She's powerful, and her serve is huge. I see [a] very good future for her. I see her improving all the time … Her forehand is like a bomb. She's moving pretty well. I think she's improved.”

Osaka, as focused as she is on her goals of a major quarterfinal and the Top 20, has got to see the wide opening in front of her for new WTA talent. It's no secret that the tour has been desperate for star power. (Serena Williams is out for the foreseeable future, and Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka have been missing in action for over a year.)

Instead of stepping up to fill the gap, Halep has slinked away from the challenge.

She was just 3-3 on the year heading into Miami. While she did win three titles last year, the 25-year-old hasn’t been in a major final since Roland Garros in 2014.

“I don’t think, for the close future, that someone is going to dominate like Serena,” Halep said. “I think the titles will go everywhere. A lot of players—even in the Top 20, not just the Top 10—have a chance to win titles, and also Grand Slams.”

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