Osaka through in Doha to end quarter-final wait

Osaka won her last Grand Slam title at the 2021 Australian Open

Former world number one Naomi Osaka is into the quarter-finals of a tournament for the first time in nearly two years.

The 26-year-old reached the last eight at the Qatar Open after her opponent Lesia Tsurenko withdrew before the match through injury.

Osaka returned to tennis last month after giving birth to her daughter Shai in July.

The run in Doha is her best since reaching the final of the Miami Open in April 2022, losing to Iga Swiatek.

A four-time major winner, Japan’s Osaka will face an in-form Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-finals.

The Czech former world number one, who won her first WTA title in four years at the Transylvania Open on Sunday, beat compatriot Linda Noskova 3-6 7-5 6-1.

Elsewhere in Doha, Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen was defeated 7-5 6-3 by Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, while Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova suffered a 7-5 6-3 loss to Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.