U.S. Open champ Osaka eases to victory on return to action in Tokyo

FILE PHOTO: Sept 8, 2018; New York, NY, USA; Naomi Osaka of Japan faces Serena Williams of the USA in the women’s final on day thirteen of the 2018 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

(Reuters) - Japan's Naomi Osaka cruised to victory in her first match since lifting the U.S. Open title, beating Dominika Cibulkova 6-2 6-1 in the last-16 at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Osaka, who stunned Serena Williams to become Japan's first grand slam singles champion earlier this month, produced another display of fearless power-hitting to put away Slovak Cibulkova in just under an hour.