Osaka giving up US citizenship to play for Japan
TOKYO:TENNIS star Naomi Osaka has decided to choose Japanese over American nationality with an eye on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday.
Osaka, who has a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, told NHK she has completed an administrative step to obtain Japanese citizenship ahead of her birthday next week.
Japanese law stipulates that a Japanese with more than one nationality must choose one before turning 22 years old. “It gives me a special feeling to try to go to the Olympics to represent Japan,” the two-time Grand Slam champion told the broadcaster in an interview in Tokyo.
“I’ll be able to put more of my emotion into it by playing for the pride of the country,” she said, according to the article published in Japanese on the NHK website.
Osaka added she wants to aim for the gold although she is also worried as expectations will be high. The young tennis sensation is a household name in Japan, where her every move is followed feverishly by local media, particularly when she is in the country of her mother’s birth.
She is the face of several leading Japanese brands, including the carrier ANA, and “Naomichan”—as she is affectionately known—was the main attraction at last month’s Pan Pacific Open in Osaka, which she won.
But she has faced controversies over her dual heritage in a nation that is fairly racially homogeneous, as well as scrutiny for her imperfect Japanese language skills—though others insist they add to her charm. Mixed-race children can often face prejudice in Japan, although attitudes among younger generations are changing. produced a majestic display in a 7-5, 6-3 victory over American John Isner on Thursday to extend his winning streak in Asia and reach the Shanghai Masters quarter-finals.
Djokovic, who arrived in Shanghai after winning the Japan Open in Tokyo over the weekend without losing a set, did not drop serve in the 75-minute encounter and clinically took both of his break-point opportunities against the big-serving American. Those breaks came in a commanding period where, at 5-5 in the opening set, the 16-times Grand Slam champion swung the momentum of the match his way by winning five games in a row.
“It’s always a big challenge returning the serve of Isner,” Djokovic said of his 6-foot-10-inch opponent. “He’s got one of the biggest serves of all time. With that height, the serve is a huge weapon and huge advantage. “I managed to read his serve and find a good position on the return at the end of the first set and also (at the) beginning of the second... I thought it was one of the best serving matches I had lately.”
The defending champion, will next play Greek sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas who beat Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 7-5, 3-6 7-6(5) in the only three-setter of the day.
Twice champion Roger Federer was far from his best but did enough to overcome David Goffin 7-6(7), 6-4. Federer committed 40 unforced errors but saved five set points in the opening set.