Melbourne win was totally different than US Open over Williams: Osaka
In an interview to Eurosport, following her Australian Open win, the Japanese star Naomi Osaka admitted that being world no. 1 said she felt "a little bit weird", with how the championship clash in Melbourne against Petra Kvitova turned out. "I had three match points in the second set and I told myself I could not control what she can do, I was nervous and it was difficult. I struggled to focus again. Three setters are difficult and having gone through it (previously in the tournament) helped me a lot," admitted Osaka.
Comparing her US Open final win over Serena Williams and the triumph in Melbourne, Osaka added: "It feels different, just a completely different tournament. Two different feelings."
Osaka, who announced her split with her coach Sasha Baijin two weeks after her Australian Open win, is still the world no. 1, despite withdrawing from the Qatar Open. On Monday, 18th February, when the WTA rankings are updated, Serena Williams will re-enter the top-10 again despite not having played on the Tour since her own loss in the Australian Open quarter-final to Karolina Pliskova after Caroline Wozniacki's withdrawal from the Qatar Open and after Anastasija Sevastova's early loss in the tournament, Wozniacki will slump to 14th in the world, while Australian Open finalist Kvitova will be ranked fourth.
After reaching the final in Doha this week, Simona Halep will rise to the second place of the WTA ranking. Elise Mertens defeated Halep in the final in Doha. This was the first Premier title for the Belgian who will be ranked 16th in the world.
from Tennis World USA https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Serena_Williams/66629/melbourne-win-was-totally-different-than-us-open-over-williams-osaka/
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