Naomi Osaka will face Poland's Iga Swiatek for the 2022 Miami Open title. The second seed defeated American Jessica Pegula in the semifinals on Friday, April 1, 2022.
Swiatek will become world number one on Monday after Ashleigh Barty retires. He claimed his 16th straight win with a 6-2 7-5 win over Pegula to reach his third consecutive WTA 1000 final.
Meanwhile, Osaka managed to get past Belinda Bencic 4-6 6-3 6-4 to secure a place in the final. "My second match on the WTA Tour, when I felt I had a breakthrough, was against him (Osaka)," Swiatek said.
Swiatek cruised through the opening set but had to come back from an early break in the second. He wasted two match points at 5-4 before sealing a two-game win.
The 21-year-old is the first player to reach back-to-back finals at Indian Wells and Miami since Victoria Azarenka won the 'Sunshine Double' in 2016. Swiatek has only faced Osaka once, with the Japanese winning in straight sets at Toronto in 2019 .
“Even though I lost that match, it inspired me to work even harder because he was number one at the time. Right now I feel like I'm on a different level, so I can really compete. We'll see how it develops. I'm very excited," said Swiatek.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka hit 18 aces as she beat the Olympic champion to reach her first Miami Open final. Osaka, who did not drop a set in the tournament, dropped points from serve in the third and fifth games