Osaka advances in Toronto against the odds: "It's fun to play with the crowd against you"
Three good victories have pushed the Japanese player into the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 in Toronto, although the last one against Leylah Fernandez had an extra level of difficulty due to the role played by the home crowd.
Nothing surprising, to be honest. Canada is a country that does not have many players at the elite level, so people rallied around Leylah Fernandez at all times during this round of 16 match. It wasn't enough help, as Naomi Osaka found the formula for victory and secured her ticket to the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 in Toronto.
The key for the Japanese player was a serve that worked particularly well throughout the night. “I think my serve helped me a lot. I also tried to be consistent when I could and not play too far above my capabilities,” the Japanese explained. Against an aggressive and very forward Fernandez, Osaka understood that she didn't need to engage in a battle of impossible shots: she had to maintain control and take the match to her territory.
“I tried to be the veteran that I am and make sure the match was played at my pace,” Osaka explained, also recalling their first duel in New York, when the Canadian was still unknown to her. This time the scenario was completely different because Fernandez was the favorite in front of her home crowd, while Osaka arrived with enough experience to handle a context that no longer feels strange to her.
Osaka shows her most mature side in Canada
The Japanese admitted that the atmosphere made her nervous before the match. “I was really nervous today for some reason; I think it was because I didn't know what to expect from the crowd,” she confessed. She even resorted to a curious method to relax during the match: “A couple of times I tried to yawn to calm down because I heard that it relaxes the muscles.” And despite winning in two sets, Osaka did not leave completely satisfied with her tennis. “Honestly, I don't think I played great today; I did the best I could with what I had that day,” she acknowledged. A self-criticism that does not prevent her from particularly valuing the victory.
Also because Toronto brings back memories from the past. The previous year she lost the final against Canadian Victoria Mboko in a similar atmosphere and she acknowledges that experience taught her a lesson. “I learned to be much calmer and to try to go point by point,” explained the current No. 13 in the rankings. Now she faced another Canadian again, but this time she managed to change the story. “It's also fun to play against a crowd that is against you from time to time. It's like thinking: ‘I'm going to show you what I'm capable of’,” she stated. In the quarter-finals, Elena Rybakina awaits her, a rival she has never faced officially.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Osaka avanza en Toronto a contracorriente: “Es divertido jugar con el público en contra”