Naomi Osaka came out on the losing side against China’s Qinwen Zheng in the fourth round of the Italian Open in Rome on Monday. However, the four-time Grand Slam winner leaves Rome feeling optimistic about her clay court game heading into this year’s French Open, which kicks off in less than two weeks.
Osaka’s performance in Rome marked significant progress on clay, a surface where she has traditionally struggled. Last week, she scored her first career top 20 win on clay against the 20th-ranked Marta Kostyuk. She then backed it up with a victory over the 11th-ranked Daria Kasatkina before being stopped by Zheng, who won in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.
Reflecting on her journey in Rome, Osaka expressed satisfaction with her efforts and improvement. “Overall I’m really happy I was able to fight a lot in the second set. I think I’m happy with my performance in Rome. It’s been a while since I played well on clay. I guess I’ve never played well on clay, so I guess I’m happy,” she said, smiling.
Osaka also highlighted the growth in her confidence and the progress she has made on clay from Madrid to Rome. “I definitely feel a lot more confident leaving than when I came. I hope that I can learn a lot from the match I played today and apply it and do really well in Paris. I would say I’m very happy with the level that changed from Madrid to Rome. I think the steady progression is something that I’m very confident about.”
Facing top-tier competition also provided valuable lessons for Osaka. The last time she played an opponent ranked in the top 10 was more than two years ago when she lost to then world No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the Miami final. This gap left her feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of facing a top 10 player again, but she soon realized the difference was not as dramatic as she had anticipated.
“She’s in the top 10, so I just really expect I guess amazing tennis from a top 10 player. I think for me, if I was frustrated, it was more from myself. I feel like I expected a lot from her, and it made me very overwhelmed with my own game. In reality, it wasn’t like that at all. I kind of only understood that in the second set. That’s why it was a bit closer. In the first set, I definitely overwhelmed myself after the first two or three games,” Osaka explained.
Osaka acknowledged the value of this experience, noting the importance of mental resilience and confidence in key moments. “I think it’s been a while since I played a top 10 player. I just felt like something drastically different is going to happen. I wasn’t as experienced. I’m pretty happy that I was able to play this match because I will learn a lot from it. I’ll learn that the level’s not that different. It’s kind of just more key moments I would say, staying mentally very resilient in myself and my abilities.”
With the French Open on the horizon, Osaka aims to build on the progress she has made and carry forward the lessons learned from her time in Rome.
Naomi Osaka in 2024
Currently ranked no.173, Osaka played her last match on the 13th of May when she lost to world no.7 Qinwen Zheng 6-2 6-4 in the 4th round in Rome (draw).
Presently, during this year Osaka has managed to achieve a compiled 12-9 win-loss record.
Naomi Osaka |
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