Osaka after victory over Glushko in Auckland: "It's good to have to fight in the first round".

Naomi Osaka kicked off her 2025 season with a victory. Entering the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland, the Japanese was able to escape the trap set by Lina Glushko.

The four-time Grand Slam winner prevailed (6-4, 6-4) and will now face Julia Grabher for a place in the quarter-finals.

On court after her first success since September 30 in Beijing, Osaka expressed her satisfaction with the turn of events.

"I'm really happy to be back. I really think she's an incredible opponent. I've never played her before.

It's good to have to fight in the first round. I was just trying to tell myself that I had to concentrate on each ball, point by point.

To be honest, I had no idea what the score was for most of the time. Luckily for me, things worked out and the match turned out in my favor," she said on court.

Should she succeed against Grabher in the next round, Osaka would then play in the quarter-finals of a WTA tournament for the first time since mid-June 2024, when she reached this stage of the competition in Bois-le-Duc.

It was Bianca Andreescu who ended her run in the tie-break of the third set at that grass-court tournament.