Defending champion Naomi Osaka has eased into the second round of the Australian Open with a straight sets win over spirited Colombian Camila Osorio.
The Japanese superstar delivered a mixed bag en route to a 6-3 6-3 win over the world No.50.
With her ranking slipping to No.14 after a tumultuous 2021, Osaka showed no signs of the abdominal injury that saw her withdraw from the semi-finals of a lead-up tournament 10 days ago.
"I thought I played really well given the circumstances," Osaka said in an on court interview.
"I didn't really have that much information on my opponent and I thought she played amazing.
"She was fighting for every point and I think that's a really good quality so I'm sure we'll see her on this court pretty frequently."
The four-time grand slam champion looked like she would make short work of Osorio, racing to a 5-0 lead in the opening set on Rod Laver Arena.
But Osorio, who hadn't played since October, skipping the warm-up tournaments in Australia, started to find her rhythm.
The 20-year-old clawed her way back to 3-5 and then had two break points to get the match back on serve.
But Osaka steadied before sending down a big serve to wrap up the first set.
The former world No.1 then took advantage of a poor service game by Osorio to break for a 3-1 lead.
While the youngster, who is a former US Open junior champion, tried to stay in touch she was unable to peg back her rival.
Osaka herself has only played three matches since her third-round exit at the US Open, opting to take a mental break from tennis.
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