"I could have had a better attitude, I was stressed," says Osaka despite her win against Minnen at the US Open
Naomi Osaka has advanced to the second round of the US Open. The Japanese player, who reached the final of the WTA 1000 in Montreal in recent weeks, withdrew from Cincinnati to be in top form for New York.
In her opening match, the former world number one, who has won this tournament twice in her career, dominated Greet Minnen in straight sets (6-3, 6-4) and will face Hailey Baptiste for a spot in the round of 16.
However, Osaka, currently ranked 24th in the world, was not fully satisfied with her performance, as she stated herself in the post-match press conference after her victory over the Belgian player.
"I could have had a better attitude, I was very stressed. It was the first round, and this tournament means a lot to me. I really wanted to win. I wish I had thought more about how I should have behaved on the court rather than just focusing on the outcome, even though I’m happy to have made it through this round.
I would say I need to trust myself more. It’s tough when you know you’re serving well, but suddenly your opponent still manages to break you.
With Tomasz (Wiktorowski, her coach), we’ve been working a lot on the return of serve, and I feel more confident. That’s an important point for me because I felt I could immediately refocus and come back when needed.
It was a key factor in the match. Honestly, I’m not trying to draw inspiration from anyone right now. I’m just trying to apply what Tomasz asks of me," she told Punto de Break.
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