Lucia Bronzetti finally defeated Naomi Osaka at the Mutua Madrid Open on Tuesday, securing her first victory against the former World No. 1. Bronzetti won their first-round match at the WTA 1000 clay-court event with a score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Ranked 59th, Bronzetti had lost both of her previous encounters with Osaka, including a three-setter at Roland Garros last spring. However, she triumphed in this opening-round battle, which lasted 2 hours and 21 minutes, advancing to the Madrid second round for the second consecutive year.
This victory marks the 26-year-old`s fourth career win against former World No. 1 players, with three of those coming in the current year. Earlier this year, she defeated Simona Halep in the Romanian`s final career match at her home tournament in Cluj-Napoca and also beat two-time champion Victoria Azarenka at the Australian Open.
Bronzetti will next face the fifth seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys. She hopes to improve her challenging record against Top 10 players (currently 0-8) and her personal record against Keys (currently 0-2).
