"I would say I'm surprised by like how quickly it came together" - Naomi Osaka on her impressive run in Miami
Naomi Osaka has admitted she is surprised at how well things have gone for her at the Miami Open.
The Japanese reached the final of the tournament after beating Belinda Bencic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday. The four-time Slam champion fired 18 aces and saved 10 of the 14 break points she faced to seal a place in her fourth WTA 1000 final.
Naomi Osaka fires 18 aces to defeat Belinda Bencic 46 63 64 in the Miami Open semifinals, the most aces in a single match this season.
Osaka eclipses Ash Barty’s mark of 17 aces hit vs. Kenin in Adelaide. https://t.co/PSlQCNgWOV
In her post-match press conference, the former World No. 1 was asked if she was surprised by her excellent run in the tournament so soon after the debacle at Indian Wells in which a heckler brought her to tears. She responded by admitting that speaking to a therapist helped her see things "from a different perspective." Osaka also said her game was perfectly suited to the conditions in Miami.
"I would say yes and no. In a weird way, because I know I told you that I spoke to a therapist after," Osaka said. "So like talking to her really helped me out. She kind of helped me see things from a different perspective. I told her like -- I'm not going to tell you what I told her, but, you know, I just feel like there are things that can help me out and I never realized it before. Because I'm the type of person that wants to do everything by myself, and I don't like burdening people."
"But, yeah, I would say I'm surprised by like how quickly it came together, but I have always wanted to do well in Miami. Like I have always thought that I had the game style for it. It is a bit surprising that this is my first three-set match. I kind of expected to have to play like really like grindy matches. But I'm confident in myself as a player, yeah."
Naomi Osaka to face Iga Swiatek in Miami Open final
After beating Belinda Bencic, Naomi Osaka will square off against Iga Swiatek in the Miami Open final on Saturday.
The Pole has been in scintillating form of late, winning the last two WTA 1000 tournaments. Swiatek beat Jessica Pegula 6-2, 7-5 in the semifinals to register her 16th victory on the trot.
New #1 Iga Swiatek comes back from 2-4 down in the 2nd set and beats Jessica Pegula 6-2, 7-5 to reach the final in Miami.
-- 16th straight win
-- 1st Woman since 2016 to reach both IW and Miami finals in the same year
-- 5th ever to reach both IW/Miami finals before turning 21 https://t.co/IgNjgvY8sc
The duo will lock horns for the second time, having previously met in the last 16 of the Canadian Open in 2019. The Japanese won in straight sets on that occasion. This time, however, the soon-to-be World No. 1 will head into the match as the favorite.