LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Naomi Osaka continued to make a statement at Wimbledon as she paired her flair off the court with growing confidence on it to dismiss unseeded Australian Daria Kasatkina 6-1 6-3 on Friday and reach the last 16 for the first time.
Widely regarded as one of tennis's top fashion trailblazers, Osaka has attracted plenty of attention for eye-catching dresses in the first week, but the four-times Grand Slam champion from Japan is increasingly letting her tennis do the talking.
After shedding another variation of her "Kill Bill" kimono walk-on ensemble - which this time was a flower-patterned robe - the 14th seed mixed power with precision to see off Kasatkina and continue her best run at the All England Club.
The 28-year-old fired a backhand winner to break Russian-born Kasatkina in the second game and then backed it up with a deep forehand to claim a double break as she raced through the first set on a sun-drenched Court One.
"I've actually never won on this court, so I'm really glad to have made a really good memory here," Osaka said on court to loud applause.
"Thank you guys for cheering us on, it was a really big honour for me to play here ... I definitely felt really good. I've played a lot of matches on grass in the past two weeks.
"I felt confident, and she played good as well, so I'm happy with the result today."
Osaka, who reached her first tour-level grass court final at Bad Homburg before retiring injured, showed she could be a force in the second week of Wimbledon as she brawled after squandering an early lead in the second set to raise two match points.
She finished the second one in style to book what promises to be an intriguing clash with world number one Aryna Sabalenka or former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko for a spot in the quarter-finals.
"I'm just trying to take it one day at a time, one point at a time," Osaka added before addressing her entourage.
"I hope that I'm able to get further and further, but thank you guys for watching."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London; Editing by Alison Williams)
