Australian Open 2022 – Naomi Osaka finds more fun in tennis, even with loss to Amanda Anisimova

Standing on the court as her all-too-light lead has slipped, just one point away from entering the third set tiebreak, Naomi Osaka get ready for Amanda AnisimovaTheir next serve in their third round match at the Australian Open on Friday.

Osaka, the defending champion of the tournament, looked disappointed as she returned to the baseline – shrugging and gesturing wildly – but then she laughed.

In the end she lost the point – and the match a while later – but she found something much more important during Down Under:

Her love for sports.

And even after a two-point explosion in a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) loss, and with her ranking in free fall, Osaka can still appreciate the moment, and defeat itself.

“I fought for every point,” Osaka said after the match. “I can’t be sad about it. You know, I’m not God, I can’t win every game. So I just take that into account and know that it would be great to win the tournament, but that’s it. is, like, really special. I can’t win a Grand Slam at the beginning of the year every time.

“For me, I feel like I’ve matured a lot in this match. The last match that I played [at the US Open] I think I had a completely different attitude, so I was really happy with – you know, of course I lost, but I’m happy with how it turned out. “

It has been a long journey to regain the joy of playing tennis for the 24-year-old Osaka player.

The 2021 season doesn’t go as she planned. She opened the year with her title at the Australian Open, her fourth major win, but found herself in the midst of a media storm after she publicly announced that she would not speak to reporters. member at the French Open. She eventually withdrew from the tournament before her second-round match and returned home to Los Angeles. Osaka then skipped Wimbledon to spend “personal time with friends and family.”

Osaka lighting the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony in Tokyo, but couldn’t follow the senior honor on the field, fell in the third round. As the defending champion at the US Open, she struggled to resist Leylah Fernandez in round 32, and couldn’t hide her devastation. She threw a racket, hit a ball into the stands and left the court after the second set with a towel on her head. Fernandez won the match, and Osaka later told reporters, “I don’t feel happy.”

“Basically, I feel like I’m at this moment where I’m trying to figure out what I want to do and to be honest, I don’t know when I’m going to play the next tennis match. I think. it’s me” I’m going to take a break from the game,” Osaka said in tears before the press conference abruptly ended.

For many, her weekly, global schedule and the amount of attention given to her will be overwhelming. No one knows when Osaka will play next – or if she will return.

So when she posted a picture of herself smiling at the Rod Laver Arena at the end of December on Instagram, which is a welcome sight for tennis fans. That smile hasn’t faded since – whether she won the point or not.

In the first set of the opening match she met Camila Osorio, Osaka appreciates what should have been an easy return. When she swings her racquet overhead and the ball flies straight ahead, she turns to stare at the ball as it bounces. Then she put her hand on her chest and smiled.

Naomi Osaka smashed#AusOpen https://t.co/VOIXeQeGGg pic.twitter.com/vibWcj2LwX

– Tennis GIFs (@tennis_gifs) January 17, 2022

It was a simple mistake, and she treated it as such. After the match, Osaka was asked about the moment and whether her reaction was an indication of her new positive attitude.

“For me, I came back when I wanted to come back,” said Osaka. “I just feel there are situations where I would have felt uncomfortable before. But at this point in my life, I’m here because I want to be here and because I find that it’s fun for me. enjoy it while I still can.”

It wasn’t her immediate natural reaction, she admits.

“It’s not automatic to laugh about it,” she said. “I’m trying to change my mind.”

That adjustment was visible – in moments of good and bad – during her stay in Melbourne, and people connected to the game have noticed.

“What has stood out for me so far is that she looks better prepared than she did at the US Open, and her attitude,” said Pam Shriver, 21-time mixed doubles champion and analyst. of ESPN, said ahead of Osaka’s game against Anisimova. “There have been a few moments so far this tournament where she might have felt embarrassed or frustrated before, but now she can shake it off and just focus on the next point.”

Of course, it’s easy to win, but Osaka doesn’t waver from defeat. She warmly congratulated Anisimova at the net and entered her press conference with a smile. She called the match “pretty tall” and “fun” before she even asked a single question.

She then credits herself with writing in a journal and “meditating” for helping her gain perspective.

“[I’ve been] trying to figure out my goals and what I want to achieve in this career because I’m right here at the Australian Open, but you never know when it will be your last”, Osaka speak.” Playing on Rod Laver all the time is something that I don’t like to take for granted. Playing in the big stadiums is really special. I just feel like I have to change my mentality more, and of course more grateful for the things I’ve accomplished and the things I want to accomplish. “

A win on Friday would set up an eagerly anticipated fourth-round blockbuster showdown against world No. 1, and favorite local favorite, Ash Barty. Many were excited to see two of the best in the game finally get a chance to go head-to-head with such high stakes. But instead, Barty will face Anisimova, Osaka will walk away empty-handed, and her ranking is expected to plummet into the 80s.

But with a relaxed, still smiling face, Osaka insists she is grateful for the experience and believes it will ultimately benefit her for the rest of the season.

“I just want to go into this year knowing I’m going to play all year and I’m going to have the best attitude ever,” she said. “You know, like, I’m going to fight for every point. Win or lose, I’m going to leave the field knowing I’ve tried my best, and no one can expect anything more from me. , because they saw how hard I fought.

“So of course that’s the goal, and I think if I keep that mentality I’ll be able to win more games. Of course there will be moments like this that let me down, but I feel it. like the defeats. what I learned the most from that.”