Naomi Osaka took another confident step in her comeback from maternity leave by easing past Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3 6-4 on Wednesday (March 20) to move into the second round of the Miami Open, where another returning mother awaits.

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Cocciaretto, ranked 51st in the world, represented a potentially tricky first test for Osaka with the Italian coming into Miami having won the WTA 125 event in Charleston last week.

But the step up in class proved too much as Osaka showed flashes of the form that carried her to four Grand Slam crowns, breaking Cocciaretto at the first opportunity while never allowing her opponent a break chance in the opening set.

Osaka only needed one break in the second as well to get the job done, closing out the contest with an ace on her second match point.

The Japanese player next faces Ukrainian 15th seed Elina Svitolina, who is less than year into her return from maternity leave.

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Kei Nishikori’s return to competitive tennis suffered an early blow o when the former-Miami Open finalist was swept out of the opening round 6-3 6-4 by Austrian Sebastian Ofner.

Seeing his first action since last July and playing his first Masters 1000 event in nearly three years, the injury prone Nishikori was unable to produce the energetic form that took him to the 2014 U.S. Open final and number four in the world rankings.

The day got off to a slippery start when the first match on Hard Rock stadium court between Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and Adam Walton was suspended after just one game due to a light rain.

When play resumed 35 minutes later, Auger-Aliassime completed a 7-5 6-4 win over the plucky Australian qualifier, who was making his Masters tournament debut and seeking his first ever ATP Tour win.

Other day session winners included Daniel Evans, who rallied past Lorenzo Sonego 1-6 6-3 6-4, and Laslo Djere, who defeated Coleman Wong 7-5 7-6(3).

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