Osaka: "Finally, I see that hard work pays off"

Four and a half years. Since the 2021 Australian Open, the tournament she won. This is the time that had passed since Naomi Osaka last reached the second week of a Grand Slam tournament. It's hard to believe, but that's how long it has taken her to be among the top 16 of a tournament of this caliber. If given a choice, the US Open was one of the places with a high chance of this happening, although a fourth-round is still far from fulfilling the ambitions of a former world number one. In two days, she will face Cori Gauff in a match that needs no extra promotion, but before that, it's worth listening to her statements.

Victory over Kasatkina

"Honestly, I don't think I played that well, but mentally, I was prepared to fight through it all. I know it's been an emotional rollercoaster, but I'm happy to have won."

Eager to return to dominating

"Since my return, I wanted everything to happen very quickly, but everything has taken its time. From Wimbledon, I set out not to think too much about the results, just trying to focus on each match and on myself. I did well in Montreal, so here we are now, I'm happy with that. I definitely feel satisfied, the work I'm doing with Tomasz is great, I'm glad to be living this journey."

Match against Gauff at the 2019 US Open

"My memories of that moment are few, the only thing clear to me was that she would end up being a great tennis player, which turned out to be true. How old was she at that time, 15? I thought she handled herself very well on the court for her age, I was convinced she would be back there. Playing against her again after six years, I don't know if it makes me feel older, but at this moment in my life, it's an event I consider special. The match I remember the most between us is the one in Beijing, I had bad luck, I think I was playing really well. I'm excited to play her again, I'm feeling healthy, so we'll see what happens."

Back to the fourth round in a Grand Slam

"The truth is, I don't feel relieved, which is a bit ironic. The first feeling I have right now, as I sit here, is that I'm very tired. The second feeling is that I'm very grateful to be back here again. I think when I was younger, I always expected to win somehow, doing press after winning a match was like a kind of routine. Now, after experiencing many tough defeats, I'm happy to be happy in front of you all."

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Clash with Gauff, a special meeting

"It's special just to see the journey back here. Obviously, I've had very special moments here that everyone remembers, but now she's the main star of the US Open, I haven't played on Ashe yet, so it's a combination of all these things. Then there's also the feeling after having Shai, I remember bringing her to watch a Muchova semifinal a few years ago. I don't know, I'm happy, I feel that all the hard work pays off."

Venus, a living legend

"It's incredible to keep seeing her on the court. When people talk about her, the first thing they refer to is her age. I don't know, I think we should appreciate much more that she's still playing, that she continues to inspire so many people. I watched her match against Muchova and thought she played amazingly, it was awesome to see how well she moved. Watching her is witnessing a legend."

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Osaka: “Por fin veo que el trabajo duro sirve para algo”