'People Were Too Quick To Get Down On Osaka' After Early Comeback Disappointment

Tuesday, 20 February 2024 at 00:00

byZachary Wimer

Former player Mark Petchey believes that people gave up on Naomi Osaka way too quickly after a couple of bad losses on her comeback.

The Japanese player returned to tennis this year, and while she looked competitive to a certain degree, she wasn't winning matches. She won the first match she played but then lost a few of them in a row, creating an aura of disappointment among her fans.

Osaka was visibly disappointed as well, but things finally clicked in Doha. She ousted Caroline Garcia and then added another win with her run ending against Karolina Pliskova.

It was almost a semi-final in Doha, but it's also proof that she's only really lacking matches. There is no reason to hit the panic button with her, certainly not so soon into the comeback, according to Petchey, who spoke to the Tennis Channel.

"I thought people were too quick to get down on Naomi after that loss. I thought people were… I mean they already wrote her down on natural surfaces, probably they were thinking it was the US Open and I was like, ‘No, she looked good, she just didn’t have the time on the ball because Caroline played great."

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Perspective matters in all things, including this one. On the one hand, you can certainly make an argument that she didn't live up to what some people expected her to do.

On the other hand, she had already won matches so early into the comeback. To Petchey, that's amazing, and looking at tit from that point of view, then you could say this return has certainly been very successful.

"I’m delighted that she has bounced back quickly to win those matches. She’s in good shape. I don’t mean that as physical, I mean she’s in good shape hitting the ball, physically, mentally, she looks happy, I think she’s going to be a danger."

We'll see what happens the next time Osaka plays, which will happen next month. She withdrew from the Dubai Championships after the run in Doha.