wta insider

'I was definitely nervous going into it' - Osaka triumphs in return

3m read 02 Feb 2021 4y ago
Osaka Melbourne TA
Tennis Australia

World No.3 Naomi Osaka extended her winning streak to 12 matches on Tuesday, defeating Alizé Cornet 6-2, 6-2 in the second round of the Gippsland Trophy. The match was Osaka's first since winning the US Open in September. 

"Actually I was nervous the entire match," Osaka told reporters after the win. "There were moments where it was less and there were moments where it was more, but I felt like I was really, really nervous just going, like walking onto the court. 

"Even until the very last point, I think I was just thinking -- I don't know, the first match you come back and especially in a Grand Slam environment, it's definitely very hard."

2021 Gippsland Trophy Highlights: Osaka victorious over Cornet

Osaka will face Katie Boulter in the Round of 16. The 24-year-old Brit toughed out a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Coco Gauff in the second round. 

"I remember playing her in Wimbledon one year," Osaka recalled. "I don't remember what year it was, but I do remember thinking she was a really good player, and then I heard that she got injured and now she's back. 

"I'm looking forward to playing her. It's really interesting to play players that are around the same age as me because I feel like we all have the same goals and stuff."

On the topic of playing her age cohorts, Osaka was asked to expand on a comment she made prior to the tournament about not wanting to play World No.1 Ashleigh Barty in an Australian Open final. 

"When I say I wouldn't like to play her, I just know it's going to be hard," Osaka said. "It would be fun. I know there are people that I want to play that I know is going to be hard. 

"Like I'd love to play [Bianca] Andreescu in a final. I think regardless of what I feel, I feel like the audience would have a lot of fun with that. I would love to play Iga [Swiatek]. 

"For me, it would be fun to play Barty, but it would stress me out. I think I would feel stressed out the day before."

Osaka has not taken a loss since Japan's Fed Cup tie against Spain last February. That loss came at the hands of Sara Sorribes Tormo, a 6-0, 6-3 loss that would be Osaka's last match before the tour shut down in March. 

The Naomi Osaka that emerged from that five-month break has now won a dozen consecutive matches, including the seven that won her a third major title in New York. 

"I go into each tournament just trying to do the best that I can," Osaka said. "I know that I have a really weird career in the way that I don't really do that great at small tournaments, so I'm hoping to like fix that. I want to do well at every tournament that I play."

"I feel like the last year changed me a lot. There were a lot of things I was struggling with, and I feel like during quarantine I really had to dig deep in myself and try to figure it out for myself. I feel like there's a lot of people that had to go through that, and I'm just a person that you happen to ask questions to a lot.

"I think the me from last year is very different from the me this year. There's a lot of things I think I learned last year, and even a lot of things that I do differently with my new team. 

"I feel like for me, I just really trust them a lot, so I talk to them a lot about how I feel, and that's not something that I used to do before.

"Also I've had a three-month-long off-season, so we definitely practiced a lot of things, and hopefully I'm able to do them well in my matches."

"For me, it's almost like a privilege to be able to be here right now because there's so many things that are going on. 

"Yeah, I would say that I'm more experienced. Maybe a year gave me more experience."