Source : ABC NEWS
Down a set against Karolína Muchová and staring at a second-round exit, Naomi Osaka gave herself some simple advice as she fought keep her Australian Open tilt on track.
“I told myself to just swing, because that’s my game,” recounted Osaka.
“I can’t be hesitant and allow her to push me around the court.”
There was nothing complicated about the instructions and it proved effective, as Osaka went on to defeat 20th seed Muchová 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 in just under two hours.
“I think for me, what I changed … I just had to believe in myself a lot more,” Osaka said.
“To me, after the first set, I told myself, ‘OK, you’re kind of on your way out, but you’re going to try to put your foot in the door’.”
The self-belief Osaka called upon was not just built on the fact she has twice won the Australian Open.
She credited her preparation for the season-opening major for helping her to launch a comeback against Muchová.
Osaka, a former world number one, chose to play the Auckland Open a fortnight ago, a tournament at which she reached the final.
Osaka has played consecutive three-set matches at Melbourne Park. (Getty Images: Fred Lee)
Her run to the decider — where she was forced to retire after the first set against Clara Tauson due to an abdominal complaint — included a gritty three-set win over Hailey Baptiste.
She lost the opening set of her quarterfinal against Baptiste in a tiebreak, before dropping just three games in the second and third on her way to clinching victory.
Osaka also needed three sets to get past Caroline Garcia in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday night.
“I think if I had immediately come here to Melbourne and had to play Garcia and Muchová, and those were both three-set matches, just having the experience from the first tournament really helped me,” Osaka said.
“So, I wasn’t necessarily worried that my game would slip away.”
Osaka ‘very thankful’ to make third round
Osaka’s charge to the third round marks the first time she has reached the last 32 at a major since 2022.
It must be noted she had a 15-month break from the tour, during which she gave birth to her daughter Shai in July 2023, before returning to tournament play last year.
Osaka exited last year’s Australian Open at the first stage, before being eliminated in the second round in the other three majors.
Incidentally, she lost to Muchová in the second round at the US Open last August.
While Osaka, currently ranked 51 in the world, has won four ‘slams’, the significance of making the third round in Melbourne wasn’t lost on the 27-year-old.
“It definitely was something that is a goal of mine, especially after last year,” she said.
“I wasn’t able to beat a seed in a grand slam. I’m obviously very thankful that that happened so early this year.”
Osaka will play Belinda Bencic in the third round after the Swiss defeated Suzan Lamens 6-1, 7-6 (7/3) on Wednesday.
