Naomi Osaka said she wasn’t distracted by a protest taking place nearby on Monday, which was aimed at her opponent at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
The four-time Grand Slam champion secured a 6-4, 6-4, win over Isreal’s Lina Glushko in her first Tour-level match since the first week of October. Osaka, who is seeded seventh in the draw, was broken only once and won 77% of her first service points. She is playing in the tournament for only the second time in her career after 2017 when she reached the quarter-finals.
“It was pretty close, but I know the first matches of the season are always really tough,” Osaka said afterwards.
“I’ve never played my opponent before, so I’m just glad to get it done in two [sets].”
Dealing with the windy conditions in New Zealand, Osaka says she has been working on her serve and return in recent weeks with her new coach Patrick Mouratoglou. Mouratoglou has previously worked with the likes of Serena Williams, Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Simona Halep.
“It’s definitely a little difficult, especially since you can’t predict which direction the wind’s going,” she said.
“But I feel like, if I’m struggling with it, my opponent is too, so I can’t make any excuses.
“I’ve been working a lot on my serve and my return, and I think those two were really good.
“There were some on and off moments with my focus, but I was just really nervous.”
Protest halts play
On the first day of the tournament, organizers were forced to deal with a protest taking place with those taking part holding banners that read ‘stop the genocide‘ and ‘boycott Israel‘ in relation to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The action was aimed at Glushko who came through qualifying to reach the main draw. According to the New Zealand Herald, protesters said they targeted the tennis player because of her military background and that she is still an army reservist.
Due to the noise, one match between Spain’s Leyre Romero Gormaz and Austria’s Julia Grabher was suspended for 10 minutes. However, it didn’t affect Osaka, whose match took place slightly further away. Osaka will play Grabher in the next round.
“I heard a lot of shouting and then I was told by people on the sidelines that there was a protest,” said Osaka.
Under the current rules, there are no restrictions on Israeli players participating in tournaments. The only countries currently restricted are Russia and Belarus whose players are only allowed to play under a neutral status due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“Police were in attendance at the event at the ASB Tennis Arena and were on hand to deal with a minor incident involving a small group of protestors,” the local police force said in a statement.
“The incident was dealt with appropriately, allowing the event to continue.”
Other winners on the first day of the tournament include Ann Li who beat former US Open champion Sloane Stephens 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Meanwhile, local favorite Lulu Sun suffered a surprise 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, loss to Canada’s Rebecca Marino.
