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.