"Watching Rafael Nadal, knowing when to hit a forehand instead of a backhand, I'm just trying to learn how to do that"- Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka kickstarted her 2022 claycourt season with an emphatic 6-3, 6-1 win over Anastasia Potapova in Madrid on Friday. The Japanese, who has won just 21 claycourt main draw matches on the tour, showcased her growing proclivity for the red dirt in her first-round victory.
@naomiosaka dazzles in Madrid!
Leaving her own mark ‼️
🇯🇵 @naomiosaka dazzles in Madrid!
@atptour | @ATPTour_ES | #MMOPEN https://t.co/13Pa6QY4er
Ahead of the 2022 Madrid Open, Osaka revealed that she incorporated a few shots and tricks to "suit" herself on clay better. Fans got the opportunity to catch a glimpse of one of those during her match on Friday.
On match point, Naomi Osaka took several steps to the left to strike Potapova's wide serve on the ad-court with a blistering inside-in forehand instead of the usual backhand return. The 24-year-old shed light on the uncharacteristic change of shot in her post-match presser, saying that she wanted to borrow a trick from proficient claycourters like Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek.
"You know what I did at the match point? I believe watching [Rafael] Nadal, Iga [Swiatek] does it too, just knowing when to hit a forehand instead of a backhand and knowing when to run around," Osaka said. "I think a lot of really good clay court players do that, so I'm trying to learn how to do that, as well."
The anticipation from Naomi in this return wow 🔥 https://t.co/t4H66QPT85
The former World No. 1 went on to highlight how she is trying to be more positive and maximize her potential during the claycourt season. She expressed her delight at triumphing over Potapova, who was brimming with confidence after winning the title in Istanbul last week.
"I'm honestly trying to be more positive with myself," she said. "Like this year, I came a week early to train on red clay, just trying to give myself more chances to do better. I feel like this match for me was really nice, because apparently she won a tournament before. She's very confident. To be able to do it in two sets, for me, it's a really good start."
Osaka added that she was enjoying herself on the surface and was grateful to have her match on the center court. While the scorecard reflects a rather straightforward win for her, she revealed how she had to make constant mental adjustments during the match.
"I think it was really fun, just being back on the clay and kind of not taking those moments for granted," the World No. 36 remarked. "If I'm being 100% honest, I was really surprised that I was playing on center court, so just moments like that. I know that this match might have seemed a bit easy, but in my head I was constantly adjusting."
"To me, grass is probably the most scariest thing"- Naomi Osaka
In her press-conference, the four-time Grand Slam champion was asked to talk about her changing relationship with claycourt. Having had a string of poor showings on grasscourts as well, Naomi Osaka described the surface as the "scariest thing" and emphasized how finding her game on the dirt has been easier.
Osaka, who made the last eight in Madrid back in 2019, expressed her belief in her ability to repeat the feat this time around.
"I know I joke a lot, but I don't feel clay should be harder for me than grass," Osaka said. "To me, grass is probably the most scariest thing. But, yeah, every year is a new thing, and there are new players that are coming up. I don't want to think that it's going to be easy to go back to the quarters, but it's something that I feel I should be able to do. I'm just going to keep working on it match by match."
Naomi Osaka will take on home-hopeful Sara Sorribes Tormo in the second round of the 2022 Madrid Open on Sunday.