Naomi Osaka has found the fun in her game – now it is about working on the finesse.
Midway through the second set of her tougher-than-expected battle with Austrian Julia Grabher on Wednesday at the ASB Classic, the four-time major winner paused as she began her service action.
The Japanese star stopped, turned away and smiled, before quietly saying “focus” to herself.
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It was just a moment – but also quite illustrative of her new mindset in this second chapter of her career.
“There are moments where it’s really difficult, where I do get down on myself,” explained Osaka. “But then [on Wednesday] I just kind of realised I was pregnant not so long ago and I just really wanted the opportunity to play again. Now I’m finally here and I’m putting up really good fights and I hope that I can keep continuing this way.”
Osaka – who only returned to tennis this time last year after a 15-month sabbatical for the birth of her daughter – is in a good space, delighting the crowd with both her play and her personality in Wednesday’s 7-5 6-3 victory over Grabher. She managed some brilliant shot-making – with crushing power and precise placement off both wings – mixed in with erratic moments, against an opponent with an unorthodox approach.
But Osaka also appears to be having a ball in Auckland, after a few years when the tennis court wasn’t always her happy place. There was even time for a delightful exchange with a ball kid during the changeover, the young boy clearly enjoying the brief conversation.
“He’s probably going to be mad if he sees this, but he was so cute and tiny,” laughed Osaka. “And I could see his arms like shaking a little holding up the umbrella. So I was like, oh if [daughter] Shai was doing this, I’d be so cute so I just talked to him a little bit.”
On the serious side, Osaka believes she has rediscovered her ruthless edge, which 27-year-old
“Last year it was really difficult to get that mindset and you could see that in a lot of my matches. The tennis was there throughout the year but it was more of a mindset thing and now here I think I’m ready for the battles.”
That was evident on Wednesday. Sure, Osaka will face much more accomplished opposition than Grabher this year but the Austrian, who has a protected ranking of 73 after returning from injury, was tenacious. She varied the pace and depth of her shots, limited errors and competed superbly, especially in the first set, which was in the balance for long periods.
The rain delay – with Osaka serving at 4-5 – probably helped – as her new coach Patrick Mouratoglou offered counsel.
“He just had two points that were very clear,” said Osaka. “I was really grateful for that because it wasn’t like he gave me a whole spiel on what to do. One of them was swinging a bit more and feeling more free because when I tense up I don’t follow through all my shots. The second one [was] just to stay a little further back on my return.”
Osaka returned, held, then grabbed her first break to take the bracket. She improved during the second set, which was more clear-cut, with big serves and strong returns and overall the 27-year-old was content.
“I’ve never played her before, so I guess just getting into the groove of things is really difficult especially since she doesn’t really have a traditional game style,” said Osaka. “But after the rain delay, I was able to focus on the things I wanted to and that showed in the second set.”
Things are building nicely for Osaka – who has reached the quarter-finals – as she did in her only previous visit here in 2017.
The only hiccup so far was an interrupted sleep on Tuesday night, after she was roused by the midnight fireworks adjacent to her hotel at Sky City, after going to bed before 10pm.
“[My New Year’s Eve] was uneventful as per usual,” laughed Osaka. “I ate a great dinner and then went to sleep because I knew I had a match. But the fireworks woke me up. But I was glad … I could see a little bit of them.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns.
Naomi Osaka has defeated Alycia Parks at the ASB Classic semifinal. Video | Sky Sport