"He's always telling me, 'You're a tennis player, so play tennis,' like I know that" - Naomi Osaka shares an anecdote about her father-cum-coach Leonard Francois
Naomi Osaka returned to the tour on Tuesday after more than two months since her first-round exit against Amanda Anisimova at the French Open. In her opening match at the WTA 500 Silicon Valley Classic, the Japanese star beat China's Qinwen Zheng 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
The four-time Grand Slam champion produced as many as 11 aces and broke 19-year-old Qinwen thrice, while saving seven break points out of the eight that she faced. Ever since winning the 2021 Australian Open, things have not gone the way Osaka would have wanted them to. Injuries and mental struggles have constantly troubled her.
The ongoing Silicon Valley Classic is just the seventh tournament for Osaka this year, with her best result coming at the Miami Open, where World No. 1 Iga Swiatek handed her a crushing defeat in the final. An achilles injury further slowed her down during the clay season, due to which she missed the entire grass season, including Wimbledon.
Former #1 Naomi Osaka serves and plays very well to beat the in form Zheng Qinwen 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 and reach the 2nd round in San José.
First win since Madrid and first match since Roland Garros.
Good to see her back and serving bombs (11 aces) like this. https://t.co/FMTzCgitu3
After winning against Qinwen, the World No. 41 seemed relieved and happy to be back in action. In her on-court interview, Osaka shared a funny anecdote about her father, who is back as her coach after four years.
"So another short story. My dad is right there, the guy with sunglasses even though it's dark outside. He hasn't been around. This is our first tournament back together and it's really good for him to be back because he always makes me smile. I don't know why he's always telling me, 'You're a tennis player, so play tennis,' like I know that. It's just really good to be back, so I'm just really happy," Osaka said.
We love a Naomi short story 😅
@naomiosaka | #MubadalaSVC https://t.co/69gy3A38gm
Her next opponent is America's Coco Gauff, who outclassed Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina 6-1, 6-0 in her first-round match.
"Wim is a really cool guy still" - Naomi Osaka
Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka ended her partnership with coach Wim Fissette just a few days ago after working together for two and a half years. The star bagged two out of her four Grand Slam titles under his guidance. According to her, they parted ways on a good note.
Talking about Wim at the Silicon Valley Classic, Osaka cited "different mindsets" as the reason for the split.
"It was really good times with Wim and he's a really amazing coach. He's a very ambitious guy. I was getting injured and I'm sure he would have wanted to go to Wimbledon. So it was two different mindsets, I would say. But he's a really cool guy still," Osaka said.