Naomi Osaka has grown up idolizing the great Serena Williams. Therefore just sharing the court with the American legend was an honor for Naomi, beating Serena in Miami and then in the following US Open was something completely out of this world for the Japanese.
Naomi had a recent chat on Zoom with rising basketball star Mikey Williams when they talked about many things. Of course, one of the key questions was how the Japanese felt when she beat Serena.
Naomi commented:
“It feels really crazy because you grow up watching them. Just for them to be seeing you as an opponent is very surreal. I feel like I dreamed of the moment—and for it to happen in real life was definitely an out-of-body experience.
Whatever sport you play, you’re compared to the person that’s most similar to you—and for me it was always Serena. I want to be a good enough player to stand on my own. I want to carve my own legacy.”
Naomi Osaka vs. Muchova Preview
Naomi will take on the world no.126 Karolina Muchova in the opening match of the Western & Southern Open in New York. They have never played each other so far and the prediction is Osaka winning in 3 sets.
Naomi Osaka in 2020
At the moment ranked no.10, Naomi played her last match on the 7th of February when she capitulated to Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-0 6-3 in the Rubber 1 of the Fed Cup.
Naomi Osaka’s best result of this season was reaching the semi-finals in Brisbane.
Serena Williams in 2020
At the moment ranked no.9, Serena played her last match on the 14th of August when she surrendered to Shelby Rogers 1-6 6-4 7-65 in the quarter in Lexington.
This year the American has a 10-3 win-loss record. The American clinched 1 title in Auckland.
Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams played each other 3 times. The head to head is 2-1 for Osaka. The last time that they squared off, Serena Williams won 6-3 6-4 in the quarter in Toronto (Rogers Cup) in August 2019.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
