Naomi Osaka: 'When I was 40 or 70, I got way more media than deserved'
Every Japanese top player can count on a big attention from media as they are coming from a big country. Naomi Osaka believes that her popularity was bigger than she deserved to when she was lower ranked. 'I just focus on tennis. Like, for me, when I play my match, everything else is completely not in my mind anymore. For me, Grand Slams is something you dream about playing as a kid. I don't ever want to waste this opportunity. So those are the biggest motivating factors for me. Yeah, I mean, regarding media and stuff, honestly you guys have been really nice to me. I feel like when I was 40 or 70, I got way more media than I should have been getting. I was kind of used to it', said Osaka.
Osaka also reflected on achieving the No. 1 ranking spot: 'When you're practicing really hard practices, of course you want to dream about what you're practicing for. I think for everyone, it's to win Grand Slams and to be No. 1. So, yeah, of course those were two very big motivating factors. After I won the US Open, for me, I always thought that I wouldn't care about rankings if I was just able to get into the tournament without having to play quallies. Then I realized you can get byes in certain tournaments if you're seeded. That was my next goal. Yeah, I mean, people were talking about being No. 1 if I win this tournament. I was able to accomplish that. But the ranking was never my real goal, it was just to win this tournament. I do think I did have a lot of stress, but only in certain moments. Then it went away. It's usually during all the three-set matches I played this time. But I feel like I was able to handle it well, sort of relax my mind so I wouldn't overthink. I mean, I think as a whole, this tournament was very eye-opening for me. I had a lot of matches that were very tough and I was behind in some of them. I think it showed me that I could win matches from behind, just on willpower alone. I think I was able to save a lot of breakpoints, so...'
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from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2RVJSnf
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