"I feel I get really emotional when I play people around my age or younger, I just automatically put a lot of pressure on myself" - Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka's commanding run in Miami continued on Tuesday when she dispatched home hopeful Danielle Collins 6-2, 6-1. The Japanese will make her maiden semi-final appearance at the Miami Open on Thursday against familiar foe Belinda Bencic.
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Osaka last won a match against the Swiss back in 2013 and has since lost all three of their meetings. When asked to reflect on her dismal head-to-head record against the Swiss in her post-match presser, the former World No. 1 admitted to feeling pressure when facing someone her age or younger.
She further recalled how her loss to teenager Coco Gauff at the 2021 Australian Open helped her accept that she would constantly have to test herself against the younger generation of players.
"I feel I get really emotional when I play people around my age or younger," Osaka said. "I don't know if it's this thing that I want to be better than them, but I just automatically put a lot of pressure on myself. So I kind of acknowledged that after I lost to Coco that one year. I'm at an age where there is going to be a bunch of young, really good players, and I have to respect them and know that they are here for a reason. I was once in their shoes."
The four-time Grand Slam champion concluded that her shaky mindset contributed to her previous losses to Belinda Bencic. Nevertheless, she admitted to having worked on her mental fortitude and expressed hopes of quashing any nerves on Thursday.
"I think like my mentality was a very big part of my losses back then," the Japanese said. "Hopefully it will be better, because I feel I have worked through it, so hopefully on Thursday, it will be more about tennis. She [Bencic] is a really good tennis player. She won the gold in Tokyo, which I really wanted to win. She's clearly ranked where she is for a reason."
Naomi Osaka, who suffered a second-round exit at Indian Wells earlier this month, revealed that getting matches under her belt over the past week in Miami has helped improve her game.
"I went to Indian Wells with the intention to do really well, and then I didn't," Osaka continued. "I feel I'm the type of person that plays better with more matches, so having back-to-back matches benefits me a lot. I feel I'm becoming a better player, so I'm kind of intrigued on how I play against different opponents."
"At the end of my life, I would like to be known for being more than a tennis player" - Naomi Osaka
During her presser, the 24-year-old was also asked why she avoids sharing her training videos and snapshots on social media, unlike several other players. Osaka explained that she wants to have an identity beyond that of a tennis player, which is why she likes to showcase her off-court personality on social media.
She added that she was uncomfortable with the idea of people catching a glimpse of her private training sessions.
"I'm the type of person that never posts stuff," Naomi Osaka said. "So yeah, I have been training really hard every day. I think I like to keep my fans mad (smiling). At the end of my life, I would like to be known for being more than a tennis player. So if I'm constantly posting tennis things, it's just like, 'Oh, the tennis girl is posting tennis things."
"I have this certain aesthetic on Instagram. I just like to post cool outfits and stuff. I also feel like the tennis world is so small, people watch what you post and they discuss it. So if I post training videos, I think people are going to see what I'm doing. I'm kind of weird about that," she added.
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