Osaka shrugs off expectations and Barty sets tone on day one of Australian Open

Having defeated Camila Osorio, the 2021 champion Naomi Osaka said she had been ‘weighed down trying to prove myself’ and that she just wanted ‘to have fun and challenge myself’. Photograph: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Reuters

As the attention in Melbourne Park swiftly shifted from Australia’s legal courts to its tennis courts, the two most successful women’s players over the past few years both took their first steps towards a possible collision in the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Naomi Osaka, the defending champion, returned to grand slam competition early in the day by defeating Camila Osorio 6-3, 6-3. The world No 1, Ashleigh Barty, followed her later in the day as she picked apart Lesia Tsurenko 6-0, 6-1 to reach the second round.