Stylish Osaka into Wimbledon last 16 for first time after crushing win over Kasatkina

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/osaka-naomi/MDM4BKiA/"]Osaka[/a] has caused a stir at Wimbledon with her eye-catching outfits, but the 28-year-old is finally stealing the spotlight with her performances as well.[/p][p]After advancing no further than the third round in her five previous main draw appearances at the All England Club, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/kasatkina-d-GU42elks/osaka-n-MDM4BKiA/?mid=CMitDg5S"]Osaka finally made it to the last 16 with a dominant display on Court One[/a].[/p][p]She needed just 65 minutes to dispatch [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kasatkina-daria/GU42elks/"]Kasatkina[/a], setting up a fourth-round clash against world number one [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Aryna Sabalenka[/a] or former French Open champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ostapenko-jelena/Gloq9MUN/"]Jelena Ostapenko[/a].[/p][p]"[b]I'm really happy. In my career I'd never won on this court. I'm just glad to have made a really good memory here[/b]," Osaka said.[/p][p]"[b]I've played a lot of matches on grass over the last few weeks. I'm feeling really confident. I hope I'm able to get further and further[/b]."[/p][image alt="Match result" id="e199cdf9-2a90-4f91-a1da-7169f63b07c1" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="7814f7ef-50a4-4054-9d2e-3ad9af98d4cd" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]Osaka's habit of wearing haute couture costumes onto court before removing them to play in her usual tennis attire has been the talk of Wimbledon.[/p][p]She earned headlines with a kimono-inspired outfit prior to her first-round match and wore a long wedding-dress train for the second round.[/p][p]And once again she struck a pose with her latest creation -- an all-white layered Japanese ceremonial-style kimono -- before facing Kasatkina.[/p][p]The outfit, by Tokyo fashion designer Hana Yagi, featured cherry blossoms in another nod to her native Japan.[/p][p]She also wore a jellyfish-themed dress at the Australian Open this year and an Eiffel Tower-inspired costume at the recent French Open.[/p][p]Osaka's tennis has been as memorable as her catwalk moments.[/p][p]She reached her maiden final on grass at Bad-Homburg in June but was forced to retire in the second set with an injured ankle.[/p][p]Osaka has maintained that grass-court excellence in south-west London, raising the prospect of a genuine challenge for her first Wimbledon title.[/p][embed guid="f2d2e746-8a4a-426f-aff4-57f6f626b546" url="https://x.com/Wimbledon/status/2073023365250482507" social-type="twitter" /][p]The four-time Grand Slam champion cruised to straight-sets wins over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jacquemot-elsa/8Gag74BD/"]Elsa Jacquemot[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gasanova-anastasia/2Dog2h4q/"]Anastasia Gasanova[/a] before routing Kasatkina.[/p][p]Osaka, the 14th seed, had only reached the last 16 at a Grand Slam twice since winning the Australian Open in 2021.[/p][p]Having lost to Sabalenka in the fourth round of the French Open in June, Osaka is rounding into form just in time for a potential revenge mission against the Belarusian.[/p][p]She was far too strong for world number 65 Kasatkina, whose ranking has slumped over the past 18 months due to poor form while she battled with a nagging hip injury.[/p][infobox id="e4d8200d-597f-48d7-83c2-d394f1217426" /]