Naomi Osaka Happy To Get 'Revenge' Against Muchova After Losing In 'Best Outfit'
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Naomi Osaka pulled off a fantastic win against Karolina Muchova in the second round of the Australian Open and revealed she was happy to get revenge after a previous loss to the Czech.
Osaka set up the meeting with Muchova after defeating Caroline Garcia in the opening round. She lost at the same stage of the Australian Open last year to Garcia, meaning the win might have been even sweeter.
The Japanese star had a similar situation against Muchova after losing to her at last year's US Open. Osaka held a 5-4, 40-0 lead in the second set of that match but succumbed to a straight sets loss at Flushing Meadows.
Muchova only dropped two games in her opening-round match against Nadia Podoroska. She also ended 2024 very strongly with runs to the US Open semifinal and the final of the China Open in Beijing.
Those factors alone meant Osaka had her work cut out to overcome the Czech. But there have also been doubts about the two-time champion in Melbourne since she retired from the ASB Classic final during the season's opening week with a back spasm.
Osaka admitted before the tournament began that she still had concerns about the problem. Beating Garcia may have allayed some of those fears, but the Frenchwoman's hard-hitting style helped the 27-year-old with not having to run as much as other matches.
Muchova's greater variety and much higher level than Garcia in the last couple of years meant it was a more significant test of Osaka's fitness. It seemed like the four-time Grand Slam winner would not pass it after swiftly losing the opening set 1-6.
However, Osaka rebounded spectacularly in the following two sets. She crushed her serve and groundstrokes in a way reminiscent of her Australian Open title runs and recovered to beat Muchova 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
In an interview on the court after the match, Osaka said she got revenge for her US Open loss to Muchova and mentioned she was so annoyed to lose that match in her memorable outfit inspired by the Japanese Lolita goth community.
"She’s an incredibly difficult player for me to play. She crushed me in the US Open when I had my best outfit ever. I was so disappointed. I was so mad. That was my little revenge."
Osaka will face the Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic in the next round. The two players share the similarity of being mothers who returned to the WTA Tour afterward. Bencic did this in the closing weeks of last year.
When asked whether she had any advice for Bencic about coming back to tennis after having a child, Osaka humorously said the Swiss player would not want any advice from her before admitting she had not seen Bencic since the Australian Open began.
"Oh, she doesn’t want advice from me. I promise! I haven’t really bumped into her. It’s when you’re at a Slam, you don’t really see people when you expect to see them. But I guess I’ll see her on the other side of the court."
