Naomi Osaka: I Know I'll Be No.1 If I Play Well - UBITENNIS

Naomi Osaka: I Know I’ll Be No.1 If I Play Well

Naomi Osaka talked about her change in attitude after a stressful clay court season ended in an early exit at the French Open.

By Michael Stafford-Jones
3 Min Read
chryslène caillaud Copyright : @Sport Vision

Things unravelled fairly spectacularly for Naomi Osaka when she lost to Katerina Siniakova in straight sets in the third round.

It was a result that had been on the cards for a while as the Japanese player appeared increasingly stressed as the clay court season wore on. Unsurprisingly, it has triggered a change in mindset.

“During my entire clay season, (the No.1 ranking) mattered and I think it showed because I was stressed out the entire time,” Osaka said. “Now I’m just having fun and enjoying it. I know that if I play well, then I’ll be No. 1. But you kind of have to deserve the spot you’re in and if I lose in the first round, I don’t deserve to be No. 1.”

The Japanese attributes some of her struggles to inexperience. “It would have been awesome to have a calendar slam, or to just win the French because I have never won it. But I think there are things I have to learn with age.”

She continued, “You can’t expect to win everything, especially when you’re playing against the best players in the world. And there’s going to be days that are really tough, but it’s always better after a hard time.”

Osaka pleased to start well on grass

Osaka is encouraged by her first performance on grass this year. She beat Maria Sakkari 6-1 4-6 6-3 in a testing encounter and is hopeful of a good run in Birmingham.

“(This win was) really important for me,” she said. “I’m only playing this tournament before Wimbledon, so I would love to get a lot of matches in and build my confidence up.”

She continued, “I feel like every day I play on grass I’m going to learn how to play better, but for now I’m just really happy I was able to win that match. I feel like I should be able to adapt to things and I think that I do. It just takes longer than I want it to.”

The World No.1 elaborated, “The time that I get most comfortable on grass (each year) is during Wimbledon, so I feel like there’s a repetition that needs to happen. I would love to learn how to get more comfortable earlier on.”

She continued, “It’s a surface that I think suits my game and I think that I have a lot of potential to play well here, so hopefully one day it will click.” When it does, her opponents better watch out.

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