Nervous Osaka gets the job done
DUAL Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka has made a winning return in Melbourne from her self-imposed, fourmonth tour sabbatical.
The former world No.1 arrived in Australia a week ago and survived a mid-match hiccup to continue her love affair with the country, overcoming French veteran Alize Cornet 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on Tuesday.
She committed more than 50 unforced errors in a rusty performance but was still far too good for Cornet, despite dropping the final four games of the second set.
Osaka quickly made amends for that slip-up, breaking Cornet’s serve at her first opportunity in the second game of the deciding set before cruising to the finish line.
“I actually watched her on the TV multiple times when I was, not a kid, but I guess a young adult, so it feels really cool to play against people like that,” Osaka said of Cornet during an on-court interview.
“I feel like I probably made a lot of unforced errors today, but I kind of expected that, because it is the first match and I was really nervous. So, I’m just glad that I was able to hold my serve in the last game.”
The Japanese superstar, who broke her own endorsements record last year in being the world’s highest-paid female athlete, next faces Croatia’s Petra Martic or Belgian Maryna Zanevska.
Osaka hadn’t played since her third-round defeat at the US Open in September, after which she announced she was taking a break from the sport to focus on her mental health.
That followed her announcing she would not do any media conferences at the
French Open, in protest about the negative impact they can have on players’ mental state.
But Osaka withdrew from the tournament before her second-round match, revealing that she had dealt with depression since 2018.
She played in the Tokyo Olympic Games the following month – where she was one of the faces of the event – but she ended her season only two events later.
Asked how different her preparation was for this Australian Open, given the length of her time away, Osaka initially paused before thanking her team for their support.
“What did my pre-season consist of? Honestly, why was my first reaction nothing? Like, my first reaction was to say nothing but that’s a severe discredit to my team,” she said.
“Shout out to my team. I really love them – they’re like my family. Of course, I took time off, but they told me to let them know when I was ready.
“I guess when I got bored enough at home, because I was just sitting at home and doing nothing, I texted them and was like, ‘I would love to play again, if you guys don’t dislike me too much’.”