TOKYO - Japan's former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka reached the semifinals of the DC Open on Friday after beating Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Currently world No. 13, Osaka dropped the first set on the hard court in Washington but won the second, with one of seven double faults in the match from her 71st-ranked opponent sending the contest to the decider.
Osaka, who had nine aces to one from Cocciaretto, was broken back for 2-2, but the four-time Grand Slam champion broke again to lead 4-2 en route to sealing the win in 2 hours, 11 minutes.
"It was just a really rough match," Osaka said. "My service percentage was probably really bad, but I feel like I just wanted to fight and compete as hard as I could."
Competing in her first tournament since her best-ever quarterfinal at Wimbledon in London in early July, Osaka next faces 28th-ranked Alexandra Eala of the Philippines in the U.S. capital.
