Tennis: Osaka vows to have fun after making winning return from long break

Naomi Osaka said Tuesday that she aims to enjoy herself on court this year as she won on her return to action following a tearful exit at the US Open in September.

The four-time Grand Slam champion, who has fallen to 13 in the rankings, said after her third-round defeat at Flushing Meadows that she was "dealing with some stuff" and would take an indefinite break from tennis.

The former world number one from Japan had mostly laid low before flying into Melbourne last week to prepare for her Australian Open defence.

The 24-year-old was nowhere near her best but defeated France's 61st-ranked veteran Alize Cornet 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the Melbourne Summer Set tournament and said that being back in Australia was like "a breath of fresh air".

Osaka is determined to avoid the "extreme build-up" of emotions last year that made her feel "sad".

"I feel like for me, I only really have one major goal this year, and it's completely unrelated to results," she said, holding a press conference again after her stance last year over the negative impact they had on her mental wellbeing.

"For me, I just want to feel like every time I step on the court I'm having fun. I can walk off the court knowing that even if I lost, I tried as hard as I could.

"Also I have a goal in the press room -- that I'm never going to cry again, so hopefully that works out in my favour," she added.

"I'm the type of person that cared a little bit too much about the results and the ranking and stuff like that. 

"And I just need to find a way to enjoy the game again because that's the reason why I was playing in the first place."

Osaka last year withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon over mental health issues, saying her problems were exacerbated by speaking to the media after matches.

She said on Tuesday her feelings and emotions were "like an extreme build-up and you just happened to see it all released last year".

During her self-enforced absence, Osaka tried to have a normal life away from the pressures of the tennis tour, spending time with family and friends and enjoying sleepovers, something she had never experienced before.

"During the off-season I just hung out with my friends and talked to my family a lot, and I felt like that was a way of decompressing the pressure I had on myself," she said.

"Then I just slowly started to regain the feeling of love that I had towards the game -- and it's not like it ever completely went away.

"But I felt like it got overshadowed by a lot of emotions that I was feeling, just by constantly playing year after year... sometimes it's good to remember why you're playing."

Her win on Tuesday set up a last-16 clash with Belgium's Maryna Zanevska, who eased past Croatia's Petra Martic in straight sets.

Agence France-Presse

Tennis: Osaka rallies to oust Gauff while Barty advances at Cincinnati

CINCINNATI -- Japan's Naomi Osaka battled back to take a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over American Coco Gauff on Wednesday and advance into the third round of the WTA Cincinnati Masters.

Top seed Ashleigh Barty moved on as well, bouncing back from a Tokyo Olympic first-round loss to start her pre-US Open campaign with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) win over Britain's Heather Watson.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka is playing her first event since the Games, where she went out in the third round.

Gauff had won the pair's most recent prior match in the third round of the 2020 Australian Open after losing a year earlier at the US Open.

Osaka said the early stage of the match saw her trying various things in her first match outside Tokyo since Roland Garros.

"The first set was an experiment," Osaka said. "I was trying to see what was going on as I've not played that many matches.

"I was just examining here and trying to stay calm, trying to keep a level head."

Osaka said victory "means a lot to me, especially coming off Tokyo. She's not my favorite to play. It's very straining mentally.

"But this is a win I can definitely congratulate myself for."

Before the Olympics, Osaka last played at Roland Garros after announcing she would reserve the right to avoid mandatory post-match media conferences, which she said damaged her mental health.

That vow lasted through a first-round stadium interview before she withdrew, going on to also skip Wimbledon.

The issue flared again this week in her first news conference, with a straightforward query causing her to burst into tears before composing herself and getting through the session.

On Wednesday, she was calm and composed in her responses to reporters.

"I was wondering why was I so affected, I guess, like what made me not want to do media in the first place," Osaka said.

"I'm wondering if I was scared because sometimes I would see headlines of like players losing and then the headline the next day would be like a collapse or they're not that great anymore."

Osaka will next play Jil Teichmann after the Swiss put out American Bernarda Pera 6-1, 6-4.

Barty will next face two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.

"I feel good. I feel like I'm ready to play," Barty said. "I'm as close to 100% as I'm ever going to get.

"I feel comfortable and ready and excited to be playing here in Cincinnati and knowing that we're moving on to New York, one of the best tournaments and one of the best atmospheres in the world, that brings excitement."

Angelique Kerber defeated Elina Svitolina 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 while former US Open winner Bianca Andreescu of Canada lost to Karolina Muchova 6-4, 6-2 in the second round.

Azarenka defeated Alison Riske 6-2, 7-5 while fellow former Grand Slam champions Petra Kvitova and Jelena Ostapenko both won.

Kvitova stopped Veronika Kudermetova 6-2, 6-4 while Ostapenko advanced 6-7 (2/7), 5-4 when American Jennifer Brady retired.

Agence France-Presse

Naomi Osaka’s knee injury lends uncertainty to US Open

MASON, Ohio — Naomi Osaka felt a strange sensation in her left knee, different than anything she’d experienced. The U.S. Open champion left the court worried about whether she’ll be in shape to defend her precious title.

Osaka retired from her quarterfinal match at the Western & Southern Open on Friday, unsure what’s going on in the knee. She expected to get an MRI.


For now, the player currently ranked No. 1 in the world is concerned about her chances of making another deep run in New York.

“Last year, I won the U.S. Open,” she said. “This year, I’m trying to play the U.S. Open.”

The problem came out of the blue.

Osaka split two sets with Sofia Kenin. She felt something unusual in the knee while serving early in the third set. After a timeout to have it examined and wrapped, she played a couple more points before retiring .


“I have no idea what’s going on,” she said.


With that, Kenin advanced to the semifinals for the second straight week. During her run to the semifinals in Toronto, she knocked off then-No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, an upset that allowed Osaka to move up to the top ranking. She’ll face Madison Keys, who beat Venus Williams 6-2, 6-3 to reach the semifinals for the first time.

Barty is in position to snatch it back heading into the Open. She beat Maria Sakkari 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 with an encouraging all-around effort.

“Still not quite there, but we’re getting better and better each match,” the French Open champion said. “I think that’s the beauty of being able to stay alive in the tournament is to give myself an opportunity to keep getting better. I think I’m still aiming to obviously do very well here, but the big picture is New York in 10 days’ time.”

She needs some work on those first sets, though.


Barty got ahead 5-2 in her opening set and got sloppy, letting it slip away. It was the second straight day that Barty rallied after dropping a first set. She fought off a match point during a three-set win over Anett Kontaveit on Thursday, showing poise that she’d need to draw upon again a day later.

“There is certainly no panic, where it gets to the stage where I’m kind of overwrought or can’t think straight,” she said. “I’m still able to, more times than not, have the ability to relax and kind of stay clear and come back to what works.”

Barty will face Svetlana Kuznetsova, who reached her first semifinal of the season by beating third-seeded Karolina Pliskova 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3.

Kuznetsova is playing only her ninth event after missing the start of the season because of a knee injury. On a hot, humid afternoon, she got treatment for tightness in her upper right leg after the second set and twice again during the final one.

On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic continued his push for a second straight Cincinnati title, beating Lucas Pouille 7-6 (2), 6-1. He’ll face Danlil Medvedev, who knocked off qualifier Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3.

Djokovic winced on a serve in the second set and got the muscles above and below his elbow rubbed during the changeover as he led 4-1. He broke Pouille and served it out despite the discomfort.

“I managed to finish the match,” Djokovic said. “A little bit of tightness in my elbow, but hopefully everything will be fine tomorrow.”

Qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka withdrew because of illness, sending David Goffin into the semifinals. Nishioka had a good tournament showing, beating sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori — a player he called his hero — and Alex De Minaur to reach the quarterfinals.

Goffin will face Richard Gasquet, who advanced with a three-set victory over Roberto Bautista Agut. Gasquet had groin surgery in January and fell to No. 68 in the ATP rankings on July 29, his lowest in nine years. He’s back in an ATP Masters 1000 semifinal for the first time since 2013 in Miami.

Seven-time champion Roger Federer was upset Thursday, leaving Djokovic as the only high seed left in the bracket.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Naomi Osaka into Rome quarters, wraps up French Open top seeding

Japan’s Naomi Osaka won twice on Thursday to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals, retaining the world number one ranking ahead of the start of the French Open next week.

She eased into the last eight in Rome with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Mihaela Buzarnescu.

Osaka beat the 29th-ranked Romanian in 78 minutes after earlier beating Slovak Dominika Cibulkova by the same scoreline in one hour and 42 minutes in the second round, as players doubled up after the previous day was washed out.

At the start of the day, the 21-year-old had needed to make the quarterfinals to ensure Romanian Simona Halep could not swipe the number one ranking and with it top seeding in the French Open.

But Osaka’s top spot was guaranteed when reigning Roland Garros champion Halep fell to Czech Marketa Vondrousova 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the second round.

“I have to think about winning tournaments. That’s sort of what I’ve been thinking about this entire tournament,” said Osaka.

“Of course, it’s a relief (to be top seed at Roland Garros) because that definitely was a very big goal of mine.”

Osaka next meets Madrid Open champion and sixth seed Kiki Bertens for a place in the final four.

The two players have met twice before, but never on clay, with Bertens winning at the WTA Finals last year to avenge a straight sets loss to the Japanese star in Acapulco in 2016.

Osaka, who broke through by winning the US Open last year and Australian Open this year, did not survive the second round in her two previous appearances in Rome.

Before this year Osaka had never made the last eight of any clay tournament, but has now also reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart and quarterfinals in Madrid as she warms up for the French Open start on May 26.


With a game often pigeon-holed as ideal for harder courts than clay, Osaka insists she is getting used to the slower European surface.

“One of the biggest things is instead of complaining about it, I’m just trying to figure out how to adapt to it. This is, like, an inevitable part of the season.

“This is the clay season, I can’t just skip this entire swing. I also feel like I want to be a player that’s great on all surfaces. I think one of the biggest steps is, of course, starting to do well on clay, learning how to adapt.”

source: sports.inquirer.net