Returning to competition this year, after giving birth to her first child, Naomi Osaka has been starting her clay court season for several weeks. A surface on which she is not successful.
After her victory against Clara Burel in the first round of the WTA 1000 in Rome, the Japanese was present at a press conference. Asked about her chances of performing at Porte d’Auteuil, when she has never done better than a third round, the 173e world player took the opportunity to slip a subtle tackle on Jelena Ostapenko.
“It was quite difficult for me because in my last match in Madrid I was a lot more defensive than I would have liked. To be honest, I don’t know if it was because of the clay. I think I just wanted to play a few more rallies with her. Today I told Wim (his trainer) that I wanted to come out stronger. It was not the case. Sometimes I tell myself that Ostapenko won Roland‐Garros and that perhaps I should stand my ground. To be honest, I don’t really try to hit the ball. This is exactly what is happening. I think for me, I just want to put more spin on the ball while spinning it more. I think when I finally get there it will obviously be very heavy, so I think it will be my clay court tennis.”declared the four-time Grand Slam champion.
Published on Thursday May 9, 2024 at 3:35 p.m.
