Naomi Osaka
came away with positive takeaways after her loss to
Iga Swiatek at the recent
French Open. The 27-year-old Japanese player delivered an impressive
performance on the clay courts of
Roland Garros, putting the world No. 1 on the
ropes and missing a match point in the second round.
The 4-time
Grand Slam champion has had a strong comeback season following a long break for
mental health and subsequently for motherhood. Osaka has quickly climbed back
into the top-100 without playing many tournaments and has secured victories
over high-ranked opponents.
Osaka reflects
positively on French Open loss to Swiatek
Despite her
well-known ability to perform at a high level on a good day, Osaka had not
previously excelled on clay or grass courts, with all her 7 titles to date
coming on hard courts. She had never advanced past the third round at Roland
Garros or Wimbledon.
However,
this year left a positive impression of what she can achieve. At the French
Open, she defeated Lucia Bronzetti in the opening round and then challenged
3-time champion Swiatek. Although the Polish player ultimately won, Osaka
nearly changed the course of the match when she had a match point in the third
set. Swiatek managed a comeback to win, in what was the most challenging match
she faced on her way to the title.
"You
know, that Iga match did wonders for my confidence, I'm not going to lie. I'm
optimistically looking forward to clay next year," Osaka said at a press
conference during the Canadian Open. "Grass, I'm looking at it from a
distance (laughing), but I'm willing to learn, I'm going to watch a lot of
tapes of Serena. That's kind of a next-year thing," Naomi Osaka added.
![Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros.](https://r.testifier.nl/Acbs8526SDKI/resizing_type:fit/watermark:Picture%3A%20IMAGO/width:1280/plain/https://s3-newsifier.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/tennisuptodate.com/images/2024-06/swiatekosaka-665ab58298925.jpg@webp)
Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros.
Osaka optimistic
despite early Toronto Open exit
Unfortunately
for the Japanese player, she could not showcase her best tennis this week at
the Toronto Open, falling in the second round to Belgian Elise Mertens.
Nonetheless, the 27-year-old remained optimistic about the remainder of the
hardcourt season.
"I
think for me now, I'm really focusing on the US Open, Asia, that's kind of the
areas that I thrive, so I'm, I don't know, looking forward to it," she
said. Her next appearance is slated for the Cincinnati Open, although Osaka
recently cast doubt on her participation after losing her luggage at the
airport: “lost my bags and if I don’t get them tonight or tomorrow I literally
can’t play Cincinnati,” she wrote on X.