"Seems like Novak Djokovic would be really good" - Naomi Osaka picks Serb as her preferred salsa partner at Miami Open
Naomi Osaka has shown faith in Novak Djokovic as her potential dancing partner at the Miami Open 2024.
Originally scheduled to compete, Djokovic opted out of the men's singles draw for the Miami Gardens event following a disappointing end to his Indian Wells campaign this year. He lost to lucky loser Luca Nardi in the third round.
On the other hand, Osaka stayed afloat among the women playing at the Miami Open with a win over Ukraine's Elina Svitolina on Saturday, March 23. She defeated Svitolina 6-2, 7-6(5) on the back of three break points and five aces to set up a third-round meeting with Caroline Garcia.
On the sidelines of the Miami tournament, the participating players joined Tennis Channel for a recreational session, in which they picked one colleague each as their respective salsa partner.
Osaka picked the 24-time Grand Slam champion after apparently going through his on-court dancing resume.
"Probably Djokovic because it seems like he would be a really good Salsa dancer," Naomi Osaka said.
The two superstars dancing under a roof will surely make for one great spectacle. However, Osaka is on her own at the Miami Open for the time being as she prepares for the challenge against Garcia.
The four-time Grand Slam champion has already played against the Frenchwoman twice this season. They first clashed at the Australian Open where Garcia scored a win and Osaka avenged the loss at Qatar Open a few weeks later. Their overall head-to-head account favors Osaka 2-1.
Naomi Osaka admits making adjustments to her return by 'copying' Novak Djokovic
Naomi Osaka recently revealed that she has made adjustments to her return after apparently struggling with it initially on her return to the women's tour.
Osaka said she has copied Novak Djokovic's form when preparing to return a serve as she believes the Serb is the best when it comes to that.
"I did change my return, I don't want to say 'style,' but I guess form. I don't know how to describe it. Like, before I was taking one step, one step, and then jumping in, but now I'm kind of just jumping in with both feet, because apparently Djokovic does that, so why not copy the best returner in the world," Osaka said during a press conference at the Qatar Open last month.
Osaka took a break from competitive tennis in September 2022 which later turned into a maternity leave. In June 2023, she and her rapper boyfriend Cordae welcomed their firstborn — a daughter named Shai. Osaka returned to competitive action in December 2023 at the Brisbane International.