Osaka: "I didn't win, but I'm happy with the way I fought"

The first tour of the year was perhaps too early to be held accountable. On clay, we already know it's a challenge for her, somewhat similar to what she faces when on grass. However, now with August upon us, immersed in the American hardcourt tour, many were already counting on Naomi Osaka for big things. That was the idea bouncing around in our heads, even though her start in the WTA 1000 in Toronto wasn't what we had imagined. Defeated in the second round against Elise Mertens, with interesting reflections from the Japanese player in the press room.

Explanation of the defeat

"I feel like I could have put a bit more on the court, a bit more from the baseline shots. I got a bit caught up in the idea of being consistent and staying in the exchanges, I don't know. It's always difficult to play against her; you don't necessarily hit winners straight away, but you have to open up the court. Maybe I got into a dynamic of not hitting winners and, yes, perhaps playing a bit more her game. But well, I'm not very upset about it either."

Her end of the match, the positive part

"It's what should have happened throughout the match (laughs). From my point of view, I feel that only at the end of that second set did I really understand the match process, but then I felt like I ran out of time. If we had played more, maybe another set, I think I would have done better, it would have been mine. I don't know, at the same time, I feel like I haven't played too many matches this year, despite participating in most of the tournaments I've been playing my whole life. I'm constantly figuring out new things; I've just had a very long conversation with my team, and everyone is quite positive. I'm happy with how I fought despite not winning, but I feel like I learned a lot."

The bumps along the road

"Unfortunately, I have always suffered a lot from my perfectionism, and I also tend to doubt myself a lot, but I think it's necessary to go through this process and have tough losses from which you can learn a lot about yourself. I have really learned that I love this game, that I am willing to do whatever it takes to get to where I think I deserve to be. I know there will be many tough defeats like this one, but hopefully, I hope to be back in the top ten soon."

Good year on natural surfaces

"That match against Iga at Roland Garros did wonders for my confidence, I'm not going to lie. I'm looking forward to the clay next year. As for grass, it's a surface I look at from a distance, but I'm willing to learn, I'm going to watch a lot of tapes of Serena Williams. Those are things that will come next year; right now, my goal is to focus on the US Open and the Asian tour, those are the goals I set for myself at the moment, and I'm very excited about them."

Relationship with Wim Fissette

"For me, trust is very important. I take a lot of time to get to know someone, so I don't know, I like the way he trains. I like that he lets me think alone sometimes, and then gives his input; I usually call them emergencies (smiles), because I don't usually need them all the time. Yes, I think we have good chemistry."

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Osaka: “No gané, pero estoy contenta por la forma en que luché”