Naomi Osaka used to struggle a lot on clay, but it seems that she has finally managed to find the solution.
The Japanese sensation reached the semifinal in Stuttgart before retiring because of an abdominal problem, and she reached the quarters in Madrid after losing a tough match against Belinda Bencic after she was leading 5-3 in the decider.
However, the world no.1 could not ignore the fact that she is getting better and better on clay to state that it is now her 2nd favorite surface after the hard courts. That means that she prefers playing on clay than on grass or possibly on the carpet (that is not really used nowadays).
Osaka about playing on clay
During the pre-tournament interview in Rome, Naomi commented:
“I have no idea actually [how it happened that I like playing on clay] I just I feel like I’ve gotten comfortable on it quite well and it took like three years, but I feel like I’m finally out of space that I’m happy about.”
A few weeks ago, the world no.1 also revealed that she had a strong training block on clay on April with her coach Jermaine Jenkins and probably that was crucial to building up her confidence on this surface.
Naomi will kick start her campaign in Rome either against the world no. 33 Aleksandra Sasnovich or the world no. 32 Dominika Cibulkova that she defeated in the opening match in Madrid 6-2 7-6 (6).
