Naomi Osaka continues winning ways in Charleston

Naomi Osaka moved through to the second round of the Volvo Car Open in Charleston on Monday with a 6-4 6-4 win over Jennifer Brady.

Osaka was the highest-seeded player in action at the Premier-level tournament, which marks the beginning of the WTA claycourt season.

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Also progressing was 11th seed Daria Gavrilova, a come-from-behind victor over Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, while 12th seed Kiki Bertens and 14th seed Alize Cornet advanced to round two with straight-sets wins over Veronica Cepede-Royg and Kateryna Bondarenko respectively.

Osaka has enjoyed a fruitful month in North America, triumphing at Indian Wells for her first career title and winning nine of her past 10 matches.

Her only loss in that period came in the second round of the Miami Open, where she fell to Elina Svitolina.

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The Japanse star will next face Laura Siegemund, who played and won her first tour-level match in almost a year with a 7-5 6-2 win over Natalia Vikhlyantseva.

Siegemund, last year’s Stuttgart champion, suffered a serious knee injury in Nurnberg in May 2017.

Meanwhile, Sloane Stephens announced her withdrawal from the tournament due to exhaustion.

The American, a Charleston champion in 2016, won the Miami Open at the weekend for the second biggest title of her career behind the US Open.

More from Sloane: "My run to the title in Miami left me completely exhausted/fatigued both physically and mentally. I don't feel prepared to play my best and therefore it's in my best interest to get some rest. I want to thank Bob Moran and Eleanor Adams for all their support."

— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) April 2, 2018