Naomi Osaka reflected on her Abu Dhabi defeat ahead of the WTA 1000 in Doha
After losing to Danielle Collins 7-5 6-0 in Abu Dhabi, Naomi Osaka has already altered her mindset. The former world number one said that she felt like a “failure” at the time. However, Osaka has given the setback a new meaning because she is feeling much more upbeat about this week’s Qatar Open.
This week in Doha, Osaka will play Caroline Garcia for the second time in as many months as part of her return. At the recent Australian Open, the Japanese star was defeated by the world’s number 21. Since making her comeback in January, she has a record of 1-3; her only loss came against the former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova.
After what was maybe her poorest performance since her comeback in Abu Dhabi, the four-time Major champion will be looking to turn things around and end her three-match losing run in Doha. Osaka lost the final nine games of her first-round encounter against Collins following a competitive first set.
“I speak quite harshly about myself. Although I am familiar with the word, it sounds awful when I pronounce it. After the game, she stated, “I didn’t want to be too harsh, but I felt like a little failure.” The 26-year-old has already revealed that the defeat given her greater confidence less than a week later, altering her viewpoint on it.
Before the Qatar Open, Osaka remarked, “It definitely is hard for me to not be tough on myself, but I think honestly after Abu Dhabi, I actually have more confidence in myself now, which is a little strange.”
“In my opinion, the loss to Abu Dhabi was the worst possible outcome. Having witnessed the worst that may occur, I believe that everything else is a plus. Furthermore, Osaka views the matches as “very expensive” practice sessions given that she hasn’t expected to compete in Doha or Abu Dhabi.
“I feel like I have to take these tournaments as extra credit because I know that I said I was only going to play Dubai,” she continued from Australia. I don’t know, once they told me that it was such an extremely costly practice, I felt rather hopeful. Osaka acknowledged that she had difficulties right away following Abu Dhabi, so there wasn’t a quick shift in perspective.
“I took a little dip after Abu Dhabi,” she clarified. However, after discussing it with my team, I believe that doing my best is what matters most. Hopefully, the outcomes will materialize. during her critical remarks made during the match, the seven-time champion is now aware that failure does not exist.
There will undoubtedly be many competitive matchups as well as challenging ones, she continued. However, I simply need to regain my match rhythm and understand that defeat is never an option. All you need to do is keep getting back up.
