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Ysaline Boanvetunre is off to a winning start in Osaka, defeating Jessica Pegula 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 58 minutes. Both players had their chances on the return and it was the Belgian who used them more efficiently, getting broken five times and delivering seven breaks to cross the finish line first.
Pegula overcame a slow start to grab the opener with a break in game 12 before Ysaline bounced back, racing into a 5-0 lead in set number two and closing it with a hold at 15 in game eight for a 6-2. The Belgian scored three breaks in the deciding set too, sealing the deal with a hold at 5-4 ten for the place in the last 16.
The 8th seed Yafan Wang defeated Danielle Lao 6-4, 7-6 after grueling two hours and one minute, hitting ten aces and getting broken twice. On the other hand, Lao fended off 12 out of 15 break chances to stay competitive, losing the opening set with a late break for Wang in game ten and fighting even harder in set number two that lasted for more than 70 minutes.
There, Lao erased three match points on serve in the 12th game before Wang clinched the tie break 7-2, prevailing on the sixth match point to advance into the second round. The 7th seed Margarita Gasparyan ousted Tatjana Maria 7-5, 6-4 in an hour and 49 minutes, controlling the pace in her games and making enough damage on the return to go through in straight sets.
Maria had to play against 15 break chances, repelling 12 of those but falling short in the decisive moments to propel the rival through. The German led 5-3 in the first set before Gasparyan bounced back to win four straight games and the set 7-5, building the momentum ahead of set number two where she delivered one good hold after another and stole the opponent's serve in game seven that pushed her towards the finish line.
The 4th seed Magda Linette was too strong for Irina-Camelia Begu, notching a 6-1, 6-4 triumph in 66 minutes for a convincing start of the campaign. Magda lost serve twice but was all over Begu on the return, taking 60% of the points in the Romanian's game and earning five breaks from six chances.
The Pole broke in games four and six in the opener, wasting a 3-0 advantage in set number two before winning eight of the last ten points from 4-4 to move over the top and stay on the title course. Kristie Ahn produced a double bagel against Timea Bacsinszky in 55 minutes, dropping only 24 points overall and dominating from start to finish with almost 70% of the return points, enough for all six breaks and a perfect score.
Kristyna Pliskova needed 58 minutes to dismiss Ji-Hee Choi 6-1, 6-4, giving away only eight points on serve and breaking the rival three times to secure the triumph and advance into the next round.