"I think she's going to be a danger": Naomi Osaka was written off too quickly into comeback says Mark Petchey, glad to see her making strides in Doha

Sunday, 18 February 2024 at 05:00

Former British tennis player Mark Petchey believes that Japan’s Naomi Osaka was too early written off on his return to the court.

The 26-year-old recently returned to the court after spending more than one year on the sidelines to deal with pregnancy-related issues. Her return has been anything but easy as she suffered some difficult results, first in Brisbane and later at the Australian Open.

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However, Osaka managed to gather some momentum at the recently concluded Qatar Open where she was eventually knocked out after losing in the quarterfinal to Karolina Pliskova with a score of 7-6, 7-5.

Petchey was recently quoted in a report where he stated that the former world number one was written off too early and that she could be a great danger to other top players in the near future.

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"I thought people were too quick to get down on Naomi after that loss,” said the 53-year-old. “I thought people were… I mean they already wrote her down on natural surfaces, probably they were thinking it was the US Open and I was like, ‘No, she looked good, she just didn’t have the time on the ball because Caroline played great'.

"I’m delighted that she has bounced back quickly to win those matches," he added. "She’s in good shape. I don’t mean that as physical, I mean she’s in good shape hitting the ball, physically, mentally, she looks happy, I think she’s going to be a danger."

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7:36 PM · Feb 15, 2024

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Azeem Siddiqui

Azeem Siddiqui is a seasoned sports journalist and data analyst with a strong background in both digital media and live sports production.

He began his journalism career working with partners of The New York Times and has since contributed to several leading international sports publications, including Fox Sports Asia, Calciomercato, and GiveMeSport. Since 2023, Azeem has been part of the TennisUpToDate team, where he has played a key role in sustaining the platform’s growth and ensuring tennis fans receive timely and reliable coverage of the sport’s biggest stories.

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