Naomi Osaka was left 'super disappointed' but resolute in her comeback mission as she lost to Karolina Pliskova in a battle of the World No.1's at the Brisbane International 6-3, 6-7, 4-6 in the second round in a superb contest.
Pliskova who hasn't been in top form a long while was a tough opponent on paper and she proved that on court to begin her 2024 as she ground down Osaka in the end after initially losing the first set.
But Osaka sees even playing as a personal win and one to be applauded and that the initial win over Tamara Korpatsch as well as her performance against Pliskova show her that she is doing fine in her comeback and it can only get better. Resolute in the face of defeat.
Karolina Pliskova hits 16 (!) aces and and beats Naomi Osaka 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 and reach the last 16 in Brisbane, where she is a three time champ. BPs converted Osaka 2/12 Pliskova 2/2 Incredible match and level from the two former world number #1s. The best I've seen Pliskova…
“Even though it’s super disappointing today, I know that if I keep training and if I keep putting in the work, then I’ll eventually get to where I want to be,” said Osaka.
“It’s kind of tough because she has such a great serve — my break points could have been better, but I think other than that, we both played really well. “Even stepping on the court is a personal win because a couple of weeks ago I was even doubting if I could play with everyone,” she added. “So I guess these two matches that I’ve had kind of prove to me that I am doing okay, and the year is just going to get better for me.”
