Naomi Osaka said she was encouraged by her progress on clay in the run up to the French Open, as the four-time Grand Slam winner eyes an elusive trophy on tennis’ slowest surface since returning from a 15-month maternity break.
Former world number one Osaka, who returned to action in January, has had huge success on hard courts thanks to her explosive baseline game, but the 26-year-old from Japan has usually struggled on clay.
Now ranked 134th in the world after her long break, Osaka has never reached a final on the surface and has yet to advance beyond the third round at Roland Garros.
However, she shrugged off early defeats in Rouen and Madrid before a run to the Italian Open fourth round, earning her first two career top-20 wins on clay in Rome by beating Marta Kostyuk and Daria Kasatkina.
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“I think I’ve made a significant amount of progress and I feel like people can see that throughout the tournaments that I’ve played, but I feel like I’ve dedicated a lot of time to learning about clay,” Osaka told reporters.
“I want to do well and I want to keep beating really good players. Hopefully the last stop here I’ll play well too.”
Osaka, who returns to the French Open after a gap of two years, takes on Italian Lucia Bronzetti first up on Sunday.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played her, not to my knowledge. So I’ve seen her around and I know that anyone that’s playing this tournament is a really tough opponent,” Osaka said.
“Plus it’s a first round of a Grand Slam. I’m usually quite nervous during those first-round matches. So I’m just going in there trying my best and seeing if all the lessons that I have learned so far have adapted me into a better player.”
She will have the welcome distraction of her daughter Shai at during the tournament.
“Being away from her was really tough, but I called her every day. I saw how well she was doing and saw how happy she was, so that made me happy too,” she added.
“Yesterday she walked for the first time, so I was really happy. We’re going to practice some more when I get back. It’s really cool to have her here, just to see how much she’s grown and how many things she’s doing differently. It’s surreal.”
