Naomi Osaka defeated Belinda Bencic in three sets in the semifinal of the Miami Open to book a date with Iga Swiatek in the final.
The 77th ranked Japanese had to come back from one set down to beat the Swiss for the first time in their fourth tour meeting. The final score read 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Japanese’s favor.
Osaka came into the semifinals nearly impenetrable on serve, holding 35 out of 36 times in her four previous matches in the event while not dropping a set.
Bencic, though, broke Osaka four times in an attempt to extend her winning streak against the former world No.1.
Bencic took the first break of the day when she fired two straight blistering backhand returns to lead 2-1. A second break handed the reigning Olympic champion a commanding 4-1 lead and although Osaka clawed one break back, Bencic held on to claim the first set.
After dropping her first set of the tournament, Osaka showed her class that had brought her to this occasion in the second set.
A forehand winner gave her a break at 4-2 and she leveled the match from there, costing Bencic her first set of the tournament.
