BIRMINGHAM–
All eyes were on Naomi Osaka as she took to the court for the first time this week in Birmingham. There was a cloud of doubt surrounding her after the way her stay at the French Open ended. There is still a lot for the Japanese player to learn on this particular grass-court surface, both with the movement and the comfort.
Tight match
Osaka started the match off well by winning six of the first seven games. Her aggressive forehand was the dominant shot, and of course she had to rely on the power of the first serve to allow her to dictate points the way she likes to. Sakkari, in contrast, was struggling. She fell down an early break after committing three double faults in one game, and the forehand wing of hers was very unsettled. She missed plenty of routine groundstrokes into the net and was not really able to match the Japanese player power for power in the first set. However, Sakkari did improve and the remainder of the match became an almighty battle for the World No.1–a battle she might look back on as key when it comes to her progress on the grass this time around.
Sakkari made quite a few tactical adjustments in the match that enabled her to make a real fight of it. She started to apply the backhand slice in a lot of the rallies very early on and prevented Osaka from being able to use the Greek’s pace from the back of the court. Then Sakkari decided to throw in a number of opportune drop shots to take the higher-ranked opponent away from baseline comfort, and it allowed her to drag the match into a tight third set.
The key in the end was Osaka’s ability to hold everything together despite the extreme pressure she was under. She faced six big break points in the deciding set, but always could rely on the first serve to show up when she needed it dearly. There have been many matches in the last 23 months where Osaka has been pushed to the brink but managed to find a way through, and this was another. The fact that it has came on a surface she’s not necessarily a natural on makes it that much more of an achievement, especially with the No.1 ranking on the line this week.
Osaka voices thoughts on tough opener
Osaka talked through her overall feelings on the court. She discussed how was feeling the ball and how comfortable she was on the grass, both in movement and in confidence.
“I mean, I felt better than the two practice days. And I feel, like, every day that I play on grass of course I’m going to, like, learn how to play better, but for now I’m just really happy I was able to win that match. Yes, of course, I don’t really play that much on grass, so I’m just… For it to be the first round and to play such a tough opponent and also, like, the first match on grass I think it all kind of added up. Yeah, for me, it’s a bit odd because the time that I get most comfortable on it is during Wimbledon, so I feel, like, there’s a repetition that needs to happen sooner for me that I would love to learn how to get more comfortable early.
“So, yeah, I mean, of course, it’s a surface that I think suits my game and I think that I have a lot of potential to play well here, so hopefully one day it will click.”
During the French Open, Osaka was very open about her mental struggles and the overwhelming feeling of playing with No.1 pressure. She even stated that losing early in the French Open as she chased a third Grand Slam in a row felt like a weight off her shoulders. She was questioned about those comments and was asked how she is approaching her time on the grass now that the World No.1 ranking is back in play this week with Ashleigh Barty breathing down her neck:
“Yeah, I mean, for me, it would have been awesome to have a calendar, or to just win the French because I have never won it. But I think there are things that I have to learn with age [laughing].
“And I think that’s one of the things, like you can’t expect to, like, win everything, especially when you’re playing against the best players in the world. And there’s going to be days that are really tough, but, like, what is that saying? ‘The rainbow after the storm…’ — I don’t know — you know, ‘..but it’s always better after a hard time’ so…”
Osaka is clearly a long way away from feeling as familiar to the grass as she is on a hard court, but there is a clear determination in both her body language and her voice to get things right and work out the challenges that present itself on a grass court. Tuesday’s match was far from perfect, but it was another indication that Osaka is capable of digging extra deep in order to win matches even when under fire.
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