Naomi Osaka praises her power game after dismantling Angelique Kerber 6-2 6-3 at the Miami Open.
The three-time grand slam champion returned to her supreme best as she powered past the German with the loss of five games.
A flat-footed Kerber couldn’t neutralise the Japanese player’s power as Osaka seemingly hit the ball into submission in all areas of the court.
Osaka’s dominant victory saw her reach the last 16 in Miami and set up a match with Karolina Muchova.
After the victory Osaka praised the power in her game today and put perspective into her victory, “She’s like the first high-seeded player I’ve beaten this year,” Osaka told the WTA website.
“I feel like I came into the match wanting to dictate. My power on the shots was working really well.”
Before the match Osaka has talked about the need to have a bit of perspective into her life having suffered from mental health problems over the last year, “I kind of realize anything that I do from this point is like a bonus,” Osaka said.
“Of course, I want to win all the tournaments that I play. I want to win more Grand Slams. But at this point in my life, I just want to be grateful for being healthy. There’s a lot of really good players that might get injured or might get sick. I actually haven’t gotten injured ever. Granted my career is quite short. I’ve been able to achieve a lot. Hopefully I achieve more. But I think I need to stay grounded.”
Osaka will look to take this mentality into the rest of the season as their are huge amounts of points to be earned over the clay court and grass court swing as she looks to improve her ranking of 77 in the world.
Osaka will face Karolina Muchova in the next round after she defeated Leylah Fernandez in straight sets. Their head-to-head is currently tied at 1-1.
