Naomi Osaka is seeing her upcoming potential second round match with world number one Iga Swiatek as an ‘honour’ after winning her opening round match.
The multiple time Grand Slam champion is into the second round after a three set victory over Lucia Bronzetti.
It was a match that Osaka struggled to win but won it nevertheless and described the match as a rollercoaster after the match, “I think for me the match, it really was like a roller coaster,” Osaka said in her post-match press conference.
“I felt like I was extremely focused in the first set and maybe I let it go a little bit, and then I kind of came back in the third but then I let it go a little bit, and then I just got really tight from there.
“I’m really glad I was able to regroup and win and sit here today.”
Next for Osaka will be either world number one Iga Swiatek or Leolia Jeanjean in the second round.
However Osaka admitted she is a player that doesn’t really like to look at her draw and it wasn’t until everyone went quiet about Swiatek’s name that she knew who she could face, “Honestly, I didn’t really know, but then after, I was, like, why does everyone keep asking me about this draw?,” Osaka explained.
“Then I knew that I was in the top half, so I was, like, jokingly, I was, like, Well, it’s not like I’m playing Iga. Then everyone got quiet. So I was like, Oh.
“Honestly, I don’t feel like I tiptoe around it. It’s not stressful for me. I only ever know, like, my next opponent. I don’t like thinking too much in the future.
“I also feel like, in a way, it’s kind of like who am I to even think that I’m going to get there, there, there. So I just really try to focus on one match at a time, and everyone around me knows that I’m like that, so it’s not like they really talk about it or anything.”
Osaka and Swiatek have met on two previous occasions with the pair splitting the wins.
Playing Swiatek can be daunting but Osaka admitted it would be an ‘honour’ to play her and is keeping expectations low, “I’m honestly really excited. I watched her a lot when I was pregnant. And honestly, I think it’s an honor to play her in the French Open, because she’s won more than once here, for sure. I’m going to, it’s like a very big honor and challenge for me,” Osaka admitted.
“I definitely do feel like it’s a test to see where I’m at, but I wouldn’t say I have low expectations of myself. I’m a person that kind of thinks that I can win every match that I play. That’s kind of gotten me this far. I would never play a match thinking lowly of myself, no.
“So I’m kind of taking it as an experience. I don’t really have too many matches on Chatrier, because I’m going to assume we’re going to play there. So taking it as an experience and kind of knowing that I feel like I’m the underdog, and I think I thrive in those situations. So if I do play her, I’d be really excited to.”
The contest will take place on Wednesday, should Swiatek win her opening round match.
