Osaka reaches Wimbledon fourth round for first time

Osaka reaches Wimbledon fourth round for first timeImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Naomi Osaka had never won a match on Court One at Wimbledon beforeByEmily SalleyBBC Sport journalist at WimbledonPublished5 minutes agoFormer world number one Naomi Osaka broke new ground as she raced into the Wimbledon fourth for the first time with victory over Daria Kasatkina.All four of Osaka's Grand Slam singles titles have been won on hard courts, and she has struggled to play her natural, big-hitting game on the French Open clay and All England Club grass-courts.But the Japanese 14th seed - who arrived on Court One in yet another showstopping outfit - looked at home at SW19 as she thrashed Kasatkina 6-1 6-3 in just 65 minutes.The dominant display comes less than five weeks after Osaka reached the last-16 of Roland Garros for the first time.Osaka could face top seed Aryna Sabalenka in a blockbuster clash next if the Belarusian beats Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko later on Friday. "I definitely felt really good today. I've played a lot of matches on grass for the past two weeks, so I felt really confident," the 28-year-old said.Osaka made her first grass-court final at the Bad Homburg Open last month, although she was forced to retire injured at start of the second set against Karolina Muchova.However, it seems that run in Germany has given Osaka a much-need boost of confidence on the surface, and she is yet to drop a set at Wimbledon.The French-born star carrying British hopes at WimbledonPublished15 hours ago'Not a carnival sideshow' - doubles players fear cutbacksPublished9 hours agoIn a near-perfect first set, Osaka hit just six unforced errors and lost only five points on serve.Australia's Kasatkina improved slightly in the second set and recovered from falling an early break down, but Osaka recovered quickly to win the next three games and see the victory. Osaka won two US Open and two Australian Open titles between 2018 and 2021,...