Despite defeat: Naomi Osaka gives herself hope
Despite losing her round of 16, Naomi Osaka left the WTA 500 tournament in San Jose feeling positive. In particular, the late catch-up against Cori Gauff gave the Japanese hope.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Aug 06, 2022, 08:51 am
The bare numbers are ultimately quite clear: Naomi Osaka had to admit defeat to her opponent Cori Gauff, who was six years younger, in the round of 16 of the WTA 500 tournament in San Jose with 4: 6 and 4: 6. But as is so often the case in tennis, these numbers only tell a small part of the story.
Because Osaka almost managed a fabulous comeback in the second set, as they were already 1:5 and 0:40 behind. In total, the 24-year-old initially fended off seven match points before Gauff still served the second attempt and finally knew how to use opportunity number eight.
After the game, Osaka was very hopeful about the future given their fighting skills: "Just playing the match, I realized that I've been letting people call me mentally weak for so long that I've forgotten who I am am."
Osaka: "Feel very confident"
"I realized that this is something I do myself. I lost the game today but I feel very confident the way I am. I feel like the pressure doesn't defeat me. I am the pressure . I'm really happy with that," continued the four-time Grand Slam winner.
Osaka had not played a tournament since her first-round loss at the French Open and held her own in round one in San Jose against the talented Chinese Qinwen Zheng in three sets. For the world number 41. it will continue next week at the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto.