Naomi Osaka feels that she needs to adapt her game for better results on clay but insisted that she will not be shaking her original game by attempting slice on every shot on the red dirt.
Osaka made a winning start at Madrid as she defeated lucky loser Greet Minnen 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour and 19 minutes. The 4-time major champion revealed she doesn’t believe she will achieve the level of Iga Swiatek on clay but is enjoying the challenge of clay.
“There’s definitely beauty to it, and I’m taking a lot of inspiration from people who do well on it,” she said after the match.
“I’m not expecting to be like Iga, but I just want to do the best with what I have.”
Osaka was happy to translate her sliding into shots and felt that she was even executing her drop shots successfully however, she is not a big fan of slice – a skill often use to clay courters to its full potential.
“Overall, just really happy,” Osaka said in a press conference at the Madrid Open.
“I had a game plan with Wim and I was able to execute it. I do have a tendency to get down on myself, especially when I feel I should’ve converted [break points] or done better, so I was definitely telling myself to keep my head up and hopefully I’d have more opportunities.
“I slid a couple of times to my forehand pretty well, so I was excited about that. And she was hitting really good drop shots, but I think I got to a couple quite well. Movement-wise I’m feeling a lot more comfortable.
“I want to adapt and I’m trying to adapt, but there are things that work for me and have gotten me to where I am, so I don’t want to start slicing and dicing. There’s a basis to my game and I want to stick to that, but also respect the court. It’s a work in progress for me, but I’m watching a lot more matches on clay, I’m trying to do my homework as best as I can.
“I would like to win a tournament on clay. It would be very ironic but also hilarious if my first tournament [win of the comeback] would be on clay.”
The WTA world No. 197 marches towards what might a tough task for her skills on clay considering her terre battue resume. While she faces a seeded player WTA #15 Liudmila Samsonova, Osaka holds a 1-0 record against the Russia, whom she defeated at Indian Wells in similar conditions.
Samsonova may feel elevated as a seed, but she has also lost her last three matches on the tour and two of those defeats came in the R2 clashes when she was handed a bye into the R64.