"I have a hard time walking away from a kid asking me to sign something"- Naomi Osaka on devoting time to her fans post match
Naomi Osaka notched up a near-flawless 6-1, 6-1 victory over Belgium's Maryna Zanevska to reach the quarterfinals of the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set 1 on Thursday. She will now take on Germany's Andrea Petkovic for a semifinal berth.
Osaka, a two-time champion at the Australian Open, has amassed significant popularity in the country, especially amongst the younger population. Packed stadiums during her matches are a testament to her ever-growing fanbase, and the Japanese star makes sure to engage with her supporters as much as she can.
In her press conference, Osaka was asked to talk about her post-match routine, where she spends a considerable amount of time on-court signing autographs for her fans. She revealed that she finds it difficult to avoid someone asking for her autograph, since she herself never got the chance to collect them from her tennis heroes as a child.
"I feel I have a hard time walking away from a kid asking me to sign something," Osaka said. "I remember when I was a kid and I wanted to get autographs from my favorite players, I actually didn't get any because I was in the back of the crowd, and I wasn't able to get to the front."
"I was watching [Gael] Monfils and [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga in the Miami Open because I lived in Florida, and everyone would rush to the gate as soon as Tsonga finished, so I couldn't get an autograph."
Naomi Osaka wins quick, which allows for lots of time for autographs all around Rod Laver Arena, even on the far corner of the seats. Very cool treat for fans here. https://t.co/BWlGkPHcfZ
The four-time Major champion further talked about how she is trying to assign "little goals" to herself every day. She revealed that she lights incense and candles every morning to meditate and calm her mind. She added that practicing this routine and setting daily goals for herself allows her to enjoy the sport more.
"I think with this tournament I'm trying to put little goals each day," the former World No. 1 continued, "so I actually bought incense and candles. I light the incense every morning and I try to meditate and stuff. I feel like that's really calming. I know this has nothing to do with tennis, but I think it's good to set little goals every day. I think for me, that's what I find is helping me find tennis fun."
"There's something cool about playing someone you've watched on TV multiple times" - Naomi Osaka on facing Andrea Petkovic
Naomi Osaka, who beat seasoned campaigner Alize Cornet in her opener, is now scheduled to take on another tour veteran in Andrea Petkovic in the quarterfinals in Melbourne. During her press conference, she was asked to give her thoughts on facing such experienced players this week.
Osaka replied by heaping praise on their lengthy careers and expressed her fascination with competing against players she's seen on TV growing up.
"For me to be able to watch them and have a long career like this, I don't think it's anything to be taken lightly," the 24-year-old said. "They've been here for a long time for a reason, and for me, I think there's a lot of respect both ways that goes into it."
"Of course there's like Serena and all the big dogs, but then to have the people that were competing against Serena and to be able to put on the tough matches time and time and year in, year out, I think for me, there's just something cool about playing someone that you've watched on TV multiple times," she added.