Naomi Osaka seems to be playing the clay tennis of her life and she admits tennis icons such as Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal have all played a little part in it.
Before Rome, Osaka was 1-2 on clay this spring. But since the start of Rome, Osaka has improved her clay record to 4-2 and she has also managed to accomplish something for the first time – to beat a top-20 player on the slowest tennis surface.
When Osaka beat world No. 20 Marta Kostyuk 6-3 6-2 in the Rome second round on Thursday, it was the first-ever clay win over a top-20 player for the four-time Grand Slam champion. Two days later, Osaka clinched her second clay victory over a top-20 player after ousting 11th-ranked Daria Kasatkina 6-3 6-3.
After clinching back-to-back clay wins over top-20 players, Osaka was asked if there was a connection being away “from the game and growing and learning and what’s happening now for you, which is unprecedented?” Osaka then acknowledged that she has done a lot of hard work over the last few months but also admitted that watching a lot of tennis lately has had a positive impact on her.
“It’s not unprecedented (smiling). I’m very grateful to be back. I’m very grateful to be healthy because I know how much hard work it took for me to be…
