Naomi Osaka was heavily affected by what was happening in the United States and the social justice movement which is very close to her heart. She almost pulled out of the tournament refusing to play and but ultimately opted to play as the whole event was suspended by a day.

And it was a good decision by her as she defeated Mertens comfortably with some minor hiccups. Looking inspired and determined since the first point Osaka quickly took a lead never looking back. Mertens did put up a fight in several games giving herself a chance but failed to convey the chances she got. Osaka served well enough to maintain her lead especially as her opponent struggled immensely on their own serve.

The 2nd set started off very good for Osaka as she cruised on her own game and manage to break her opponents' serve. It was 2-0 and it looked like the end of the match was near. Mertens didn't agree so she fought back after a magnificent game where she broke Osaka's serve. She won her own service game comfortably to tie it up 2-2. The next game proved costly for Osaka as she surrendered her serve to give Mertens a 4-2 lead. Not wanting to have to play 3 sets Osaka composed herself and broke her opponents serve to make it 4-4. No play managed to break through so we ended up in a tie break which was won by Osaka 7-5.
https://twitter.com/CincyTennis/status/1299394697656446977