Naomi Osaka: I feel very old
Naomi Osaka is still 21 years old and is set to have a bright career in front of her, but the Japanese does not feel that young. In a press conference at the Miami Open, Osaka said: "I feel very old. It's so weird to me because I remember when I was 17 and I was like the youngest one playing the tournament. Now there are kids, literally, they're kids, doing well and winning tournaments. For me, I think it's very inspiring, too, because I don't know, there's like no fear. I think that's amazing. It sort of shows, like, the generation, the next generation. They're not in my generation. I'm too old for them. Yeah, it makes me happy to see that."
On hiring Jermaine Jenkins as her new coach, Osaka added: "Yeah, I mean, I've seen him around because he used to be with Venus. But, of course, I never talked to him because I don't talk to people. But I've heard a lot of people saying good things about him. I think it's good that he's only worked with that one person for a long time. For me, I want the team around me to be for a very long time. I don't want to keep changing people every year. I don't really feel good doing that. Yeah, I think there was nothing but positive things said about him. When I met him, he was really great."
Osaka is focused on the future and not on her two consecutive Majors: "I don't really think about what I've done before. I think about what I'm trying to do now. So when I play my matches now, I don't think that I've won two Grand Slams and I'm No. 1. I just think that I want to win the match that I'm playing well and I want to do well in the tournament. Definitely, I want to win the tournaments that I play, so that's the main goal on my mind."
Kei Nishikori lost to Dusan Lajovic in a three-set opening round match in Miami. The Japanese player, speaking to reporters in his post-match press conference, said: "He definitely raised his level second and third. He started playing more solid from the baseline. He wasn't missing much like the first set. He served well in the end. Maybe I didn't play quite my best today. Yeah, credit to him today."
Nishikori was disappointed but still tried to take positives: "It's obviously a tough loss from last week, not playing quite best. But, I mean, I'm not playing bad or terrible. I try to keep head up. Clay court season is coming. It's a completely new season. I try to have a good practice, two more weeks, and be ready for Monte-Carlo," said Nishikori, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the final of the 2018 Monte Carlo Masters.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2WmpgSO
No comments