Naomi Osaka has made a successful return to the North American hardcourts after defeating world No.16 Ons Jabeur in straight sets at the Canadian Open.
The four-time Grand Slam champion stormed to a 6-3, 6-1, win over the Tunisian to claim her fifth win over a top 20 player this season and her first since Rome in May. Osaka, who received a wild card into the main draw, didn’t face a single break point during the match and won 77% of her service points.
Reflecting on her latest victory, the 26-year-old believes her previous match on a hard court at the Miami Open in March helped her defeat Jabeur. At that tournament, she reached the third round before losing to Caroline Garcia in two close sets.
“I think for me I’ve had so many matches on hard court under my belt, and I learned a lot from my last match on hard, which was against Garcia in Miami.” She said.
“It was a little bit of a long time coming, but I’m really glad to be back on hard and I think even the way that I return now I took from clay, so I hope that I can keep implementing things that I’ve learned over the months.”
Osaka is hoping her ongoing learning process will help her rise in the rankings more rapidly. She is currently 95th in the world which is her highest position since returning to the Tour following the birth of her daughter. During the 2019 season, she held the No.1 spot for 25 weeks.
Another weapon Osaka is using in her comeback this year involves a new member of her team. She is working with Simone Elliott, who is a former ballerina and the wife of her fitness trainer Florian Zitzelsberger.
“I think Simone’s helped my movement a lot. She’s also kind of my mental coach. I said kind of, but she actually is my mental coach.” Osaka explains.
“I haven’t gotten injured this entire time and I want to thank her for that, her and Flo (Zitzelsberger).
“I’ve been doing ballet lessons with her, so I told her one of my goals is to do the really famous Clijsters and Serena split forehand, so hopefully maybe in the next couple of months, if you see it on the court, just know we’ve been working very hard on it.”
Hardcourts are where Osaka usually produces her best tennis on the Tour. So far in her career, all 11 WTA finals she has played have been on the surface. She has won both the Australian Open and US Open two times.
In Toronto, Osaka will next play Belgium’s Elise Mertens in what will be their third meeting this year. Osaka won their encounter on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch but lost in Indian Wells.
