Naomi Osaka Hopes Copying Novak Djokovic Will Bring Success
Naomi Osaka is hoping that she may succeed in her comeback by imitating the Serbian’s return stance during games. The four-time Grand Slam champion is participating in her fourth competition since rejoining the Tour after giving birth. She won back-to-back matches in the Doha Open for the first time since 2022, defeating Petra Martic and 15th seed Caroline Garcia.
Speaking to the media after defeating Martic, the former world number one claims to have improved her game, citing her return position as one of her changes. someone who she refers to as “the world’s best returner.”
I did alter my answer; I suppose it was more a matter of form than, say, style. I have no idea how to explain it,”
Osaka reportedly said,
“I used to take one step, one step, and then jump in, but now I just jump in with both feet because, well, Djokovic seems to do that, so why not emulate the world’s greatest returner?”
Under the close supervision of her coach Wim Fissette, with whom she previously collaborated from 2019 to 2022, Osaka is modifying her approach to the game. The Dutchman reportedly parted ways with Qinwen Zheng, the finalist at the Australian Open, last year in order to rejoin Osaka’s squad.
Knowing that my serve is among the best in the world—dare I say it—was annoying, the woman remarked.
However, the return was one of the things I truly wanted to improve. I only wanted to work on the things I knew should be much better. We were discussing it a lot over the off-season and after moving out of Melbourne, so it was clear that it needed to be improved.
Osaka’s next opponent in the third round will be Lesia Tsurenko in Doha. Although they haven’t met since 2019, this will be their fourth Tour meeting. At the moment, Osaka leads their head-to-head match 2-1.