Naomi Osaka "trying to be more positive" on clay in Madrid
WTA
Former WTA world number one Naomi Osaka returned to action on clay with a resounding straight-sets win against qualifier Anastasia Potapova at the 2022 Madrid Open.
Osaka raced to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over her Russian opponent in just over an hour at the Madrid Open. It marked a positive return for the Japanese player, who appeared for the first time since she reached the 2022 Miami Open final in March.
It was also Osaka's first clash on clay for the 2022 campaign, and she looked at ease on the surface by racking up an 86% win rate on her first-serve points and converting five of her nine break points.
While her return seemed natural and seamless, Osaka revealed post-match that training with a positive mindset and arriving early to practice on clay were central to the strong showing against Potapova.
"I'm honestly trying to be more positive with myself. This year I came a week early to train on red clay, so just trying to give myself more chances to do better. ... To be able to do it in two sets, for me, it's a really good starting block."
In 2020, Osaka missed the entire clay court campaign and she had little success in 2021 too, as the four-time Grand Slam winner lost three of her five matches on clay last season.
However, the Japanese player wants to make up for the loss of form, as she recently explained her ambitions to win either the Madrid or Italian Open this season.
After a commanding win in round one, Osaka has set up a second-round clash against Sara Sorribes Tormo at the Madrid Open. However, when looking ahead to how far she could go in this competition, Osaka remained humble and said her main focus right now is enjoyment and positivity.
"I think today for me it was really fun, just being able to be back on the clay and kind of not taking those moments for granted."
Latest Comments
- Kyrgios will do anything to stay in the news.shirley19-12-2024
- A technical error.
MrMustard18-12-2024 - All that is said , all that is done. Nick has 0 grand slams wins. Everything else is hot 🥵 air.MrMustard18-12-2024
- All that is said , all that isMrMustard18-12-2024
- Kyrgios is a jerk.shirley17-12-2024
- If Jessica Pegula had to undergo such horror for using a bannes substance, so do these two tennis players. Penalty should apply to all players regardless of their excuses. They are professionals and know better!!
Stella112-12-2024 - All players should be treated the same for taking banned substances, if your no 1 in the world or no 300 man or woman you should not be allowed to keep playing,,VPH108-12-2024
- Ah, censored again. No one gets to read my comment. LOLjjluvsports08-12-2024
- Reynolds, could you list all the wars started by the U.S. and U.K., or will you run out of paper? Hypocrisy.jjluvsports06-12-2024
- IDK, it looks like to me that Raducanu should praise herself and her team for 'gaming the system' as in playing the points and ranking game. When you look at her season of wild cards, skipping tournaments (including the Paris Olympics!), retiring from losing matches and avoiding qualifying rounds, it seems like there was some plan to move up the ranks without actually playing a lot of tennis. And it worked! Congrats!RealityCheckers04-12-2024