Why I was so emotional against Ashleigh Barty. NAOMI OSAKA

The world no. 3 brought down Barty in the China Open finals. What did she feel during the match?

By
Shailesh Sharma
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Naomi Osaka and Ashleigh Barty

A resurging Naomi Osaka became triumphant on Sunday when she prevailed over the world no. 1 Ashleigh Barty to win the China Open final. The Japanese tennis star was able to fight back after losing the first set, ending the match with a 3-6 6-3 6-2 score.

The opening set went favorably for her Australian opponent, partly because Osaka committed three double faults. She, however, did not hold back in the succeeding sets, where she forced Barty to make several mistakes.

When asked about how she felt during their match, Osaka confirmed that she was emotional. She said that she really wanted to win. It might have been obvious during the second and third set of her match with Barty, where she felt like she was being dramatic. She also mentioned how much she values tennis and how much a win would mean to her.

Osaka is proving herself to be a formidable opponent in this season’s Asian swing. Last month, she also bagged the championship of the Pan Pacific Open in her home country. The China Open win gives her a second straight WTA title. It is also the 10th in her current winning streak.

The China Open final match was a much-awaited face-off between two of the year’s Grand Slam winners. It can be recalled that the Japanese star took home the championship in the Australian Open while Barty dominated in the French Open. In the same tournament, Osaka also defeated this year’s U.S. Open champ Bianca Andreescu.

Because of her win, Osaka is now No. 3 in the world rankings. It was a much-needed boost for the young player, who had a less-than-stellar performance in the past few months. She infamously crashed out of last month’s U.S. Open in the fourth round.

Osaka qualifies for Shenzhen

In related news, the Japanese star also becomes the fifth qualifier for the 2019 Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen. The event, which will mark the end of the current tennis season, will gather the top eight female tennis players in the world to battle each other. The Shenzhen event will serve as the female counterpart of the ATP Finals in London.

Osaka will be joining previously-announced qualifiers Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep and Andreescu in the event. Three more qualifiers will be announced in the next few weeks.

Osaka’s father becomes a temporary coach

It looks like Osaka is still enjoying the coaching style of his father, Leonard Francois, who has taken on the task. After she parted ways with former coach Jermaine Jenkins, Francois got into work right away by training her daughter. It is, however, expected that a new coach will be brought on board by January.

Naomi Osaka’s ranking and performance in 2019

Naomi Osaka Stats info

Ranked no.4, Osaka played her last match on the 6th of October when she defeated Ashleigh Barty 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the final in Beijing to win her 4th career title.

This year the Japanese has a 39-11 win-loss record. Naomi clinched 3 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Osaka and in Beijing.

 

Ashleigh Barty’s ranking and performance in 2019

Ashleigh Barty Stats info

Currently the world no.1, Ashleigh played her last match on the 6th of October when she lost to Naomi Osaka 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the final in Beijing.

This year Barty has a 48-11 win-loss record. Barty clinched 3 titles in 2019 in Miami, at the French Open and in Birmingham. Ashleigh was the finalist in Sydney and in Beijing.

Naomi Osaka and Ashleigh Barty played each other 4 times. The head to head is 2-2.

The last time that they fought against each other, Naomi Osaka won 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the final in Beijing in 06th October 2019.

Here the highlights.

Naomi Osaka and Ashleigh Barty

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