Naomi Osaka begins Australian Open tilt with first-round win at Melbourne Park

Naomi Osaka returned to the scene of one of her career highlights when she easily defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets, as the Australian Open got underway at Melbourne Park.

Osaka clinched the Australian Open women’s title on Rod Laver Arena in 2019 and she showed why she is among this year’s tournament favourites with a 6-1, 6-2 defeat of the experienced Pavlyuchenkova in one hour and eight minutes.

The Japanese third seed entered the Australian Open with a minor injury (shoulder) concern that forced her out of the semi-finals of…