Osaka almost speechless after losing to Putintseva
“Can I leave? I feel like I’m about to cry,” murmured a devastated No2 seed Naomi Osaka as she broke down in the post-match press conference after her first-round defeat against Yulia Putintseva, of Kazakhstan, before swiftly departing.
It was clear after the 7-6, 6-2 loss that the 21-year-old, who has shot to global fame after winning both the US and Australian Opens in the past year, was going to struggle in front of a large cohort of Japanese, British and international media. Such was her dejection, the player who is of Japanese and Haitian parentage could barely supply full answers.
It may have been the shock result of the opening day, but this was no fluke as Moscow-born Putintseva, the world No39, had beaten Osaka twice before, including at the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham.
When asked the reason for this poor record, Osaka could just about manage to say: “She mixes the ball up really well.” Her 21 unforced errors showed how she struggles to cope with Putintseva’s all-court style. Much of this the 24-year-old credits to long hours spent watching Youtube videos of Justine Henin and Amelie Mauresmo under the watchful eye of her father Anton, who coached her during her teenage years.
Osaka gave away a hint of her strong-minded, individualistic and honest yet introverted personality when she was questioned as to what coping techniques she would employ in the aftermath of defeat. “There are answers to questions that I still haven’t figured out yet.”
Putintseva said of the psychological battle: “I think Naomi started more aggressive, putting more balls in than the last two matches that we played. I was just trying to stay there, trying to do what me and my team talked about. That’s what helped me to come back in the first set and to win it in the end.”
Another cause of anguish for Osaka would seem to be her split from coach Sascha Bajin, in the aftermath of the Australian Open, whom she won both her majors under. Although her affirmation that there was no correlation between the endings of the relationship, she became more agitated at the mention of his name.
While in complete opposition, her vanquisher was giggling about her pre-wimbledon visit to Big Ben and her joy at a shopping trip to Burberry’s Regent Street store.
The other surprise result for the women saw Belarusian 10th seed Aryna Sabalenka crumble against Magdalena Rybarikova.