London – Four-time Grand ⁠Slam champion Naomi Osaka continued the impressive start to her Wimbledon campaign with a clinical 6-3, 6-2 victory over Russian qualifier Anastasia Gasanova to reach the third round on a sunny Wednesday.

The Japanese No. 14 seed arrived on Court Two having swapped her first-round “Kill Bill” ​kimono for a more toned down version of the dress with a ‌decorative sash, ‌a long train and a bomber jacket that caught the eye ​as much as her tennis.

Osaka has raised the fashion stakes at the majors this year, wearing a black Kevin Germanier skirt at the French Open before unveiling a ⁠layered yellow-brown and gold Nike match dress inspired by the glittering Eiffel Tower at night.

She turned ⁠heads with a jellyfish-inspired outfit during her walk-on at the Australian Open.

“My inspiration when it comes to fashion? I don’t know,” Osaka said. “I ​feel like my inspiration can be ⁠anything.

“I grew up in Florida for the most part when I was in my development years. Then I took ⁠a trip to ​Japan one day. Then obviously you go to Harajuku, and ​you see everyone expressing themselves through clothes,” she said, referring to the ​Tokyo ‌region known for its fashion culture.

“It was just so cool and colourful. That stuck out to me a lot. I kind of used that in my fashion experimentation. I don’t really ever have a plan when it comes to ‌clothes. It’s okay to try something and fail, but I’d rather just try it and see how it goes.”

When the match began, there was nothing subdued about Osaka’s tennis as she cruised through the opening set and moved up a gear in the next with a ​powerful ​overhead smash to break for a 4-2 lead. She never ​looked back from there to reach the third round for the fourth time.

Osaka, who has ⁠not progressed beyond that stage at the All England Club, takes on Australian Daria Kasatkina in the next round, though she said her immediate focus was on another matter.

“Tomorrow’s my daughter’s (third) birthday,” Osaka said. “I just wanted to be here ​for longer. I don’t want to make her get on a plane on her birthday. I was really happy about today.

“Obviously I have to practice in the morning, but maybe after we’ll go around the park and stuff. She loves making friends so yeah, we’ll probably do that.”

In other action on Wednesday, Coco Gauff shrugged off her Wimbledon gremlins in the nick of time to avoid another early exit, while defending men’s champion Jannik Sinner and women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka eased into the third round.

But No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva’s dream of becoming the first female player since Serena Williams in 2015 to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back was shattered by former champion Barbora Krejcikova despite saving six match points.

For all her fight and fury, the 19-year-old Andreeva ​went down 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 as the understated Krejcikova showed the cool grass-court craft that took her to the 2024 title.

Novak Djokovic completed the day’s ‌action as ‌he turned his Centre Court clash against Stefanos Tsitsipas — a player he has twice beaten in Grand Slam finals — into ​an exhibition.

The Serbian veteran, bidding for an eighth Wimbledon crown at the age of 39, was superb in a 6-3, 6-4 6-2 win.

The day after seven-time Wimbledon champion Williams’ eagerly awaited comeback ended in defeat, Gauff, the player who took the baton from the American great, again looked vulnerable on the grass but ⁠dug in to beat Solana Sierra 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7).

Gauff, the seventh seed, looked to be on the brink of her third first-round upset at Wimbledon in four years ⁠as Argentina’s Sierra served for the match at 5-4 in the third set.

But she channeled the warrior spirit of Williams to drag herself back and, after trailing 7-4 in the tiebreak, conjured a moment of magic at 7-7. Out of position, she flicked away an ​improbable half-volley winner on the turn from behind the baseline ⁠to break Sierra’s spirit.

She sealed victory with an ace to set up a third-round clash with fellow American Claire Liu.

“Honestly, we’ve worked on half volleys and stuff. Because my coach is French, I feel like it’s something they like ⁠to do and stuff,” two-time grand ​slam champion Gauff, who has never gone past the fourth round at Wimbledon, said.

“Probably couldn’t recreate it ​if I wanted to.”

Several other women’s title contenders progressed.

Fourth seed Jessica Pegula beat Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, while American teenager Iva Jovic, seeded 16th, easily solved the puzzle that is 38-year-old Tatjana Maria, beating the wily German slice merchant 6-1, 6-2.

There were also wins for Swiss No. 11 seed Belinda Bencic against ​China’s Wang Xinyu, and 10th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, who beat China’s Zhang Shuai to set up a third-round match against Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew who impressed in her win over American Alycia Parks.

In the men’s draw, Canadian No. 3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Croatia’s Dino Prizmic 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, 7-5, eighth-seeded Daniil Medvedev enjoyed a four-set win over Spain’s Daniel Merida, French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli, seeded ninth, beat Mariano Navone and Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca was roared on by his yellow-clad fan club as he blazed past Jesper de Jong.