Naomi Osaka is excited about a chance to play Daria Kasatkina again after they practiced together in Madrid, which didn't go too well for her.
Osaka didn't play that well in Madrid, which was a bit surprising because it's a court that should work really well for her. The ball flies quickly, which suits her shots, and she can serve well, but she didn't play too well at the WTA 1000 event.
She's playing much better this week in Rome, already earning two wins, setting up the upcoming match against Daria Kasatkina, a really exciting prospect as well.
They did play recently in Madrid, but that was a practice set, which Kasatkina apparently won easily, so easily that the Japanese player even felt embarrassed for not giving her opponent good enough practice.
Osaka spoke about that with the media in Rome, admitting that she's excited to try herself once more against a player who is known to be a clay natural.
"I think she's my first top-10 player I'm playing this year, no? Am I crazy? She's 10, c'mon (laughter). Yeah, honestly, like, I think I've said this before, but she smacked me in Madrid real bad."
"It was actually embarrassing. I felt like I had to apologize to her after that practice. But I'm going into this match knowing that she has way more experience than me on clay."
Osaka obviously needs more experience on clay, and with every match she plays, she learns more and more. Matches like this will give her that experience regardless of whether she wins or loses.
"I feel like I'm still a baby giraffe, like I'm trying to learn my steps. I'm just extremely humble. I want to learn from the match I played today and hopefully apply that. I know she's an amazing player."
0 Comments