Pam Shriver expressed her wish for Naomi Osaka to compete in additional tournaments and draw motivation from Serena Williams in order to regain her form.
Osaka stated that she feels joyful when she is on the court, but her tennis has been anything but good this year. Shriver, like many others, believes that Osaka lacks motivation because her drive and passion have faded.
"It had to happen," Shriver said on Osaka disappointing at the US Open "Listen, it was a tough draw to play (Danielle) Collins first round. Naomi didn't play badly and I was texting Stuart, her business partner like, 'you gotta play more!'"
"And it's like, 'okay but she has to want to play more. I'd like to see her play a couple more tournaments before the end of the year. Naomi might learn a little bit."
The 60-year-old wants to see Osaka draw inspiration from Serena Williams and her 2007 Australian Open triumph:
"Reflecting back on some of Serena's long journey, when I think back to how Serena was able to win the 07 Australian Open, outside the Top 70, unseeded, out of shape, hadn't played any matches, and then worked her way into form."
"Really, the best way to do that is just to play matches. You get sparks of motivation by seeing glimpses of your best self and then that makes you want to go out and work harder."
0 Comments