Naomi Osaka shoulders the pain gives Shenzhen and the season a miss
"I'm disappointed to have to withdraw from the finals...It has been a great event..."Naomi Osaka had explained at a press conference after her announcement on leaving the tournament. Petra Kvitova was her first opponent, a player who she had met up with once before at the 2019 Australian Open final. She had great success then at breaking the Czech's defense and winning the Melbourne event from her. But now Kvitova had capped at 40 winners but her performance was tainted by over 40 unforced errors. Osaka was playing with much confidence and the first set she beamed with skill and expertise. Despite the set was tied at 4-all, Osaka and Kvitova fought into the tiebreak with Naomi winning it and having the first set advantage.
The second set was a struggle for Kvitova as she'd felt the Japanese gaining in aggression but didn't want to go down that way. The Czech pulled out some volleys and her best tennis to even up the set 6-4. Kvitova clipped the lines while Osaka stood at the net bashing away balls for winners. The young Japanese showed her authority and with a returned ball going long, Naomi Osaka won 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. By she taking the first round robin of the Shiseido WTA Finals proved to her she had a great chance to perhaps win the tournament.
Acting calm and looking quite like a schoolgirl with strikingly attractive silver framed glasses, she explained at the press conference her feelings on her shoulder injury and leaving the tournament. "...I played my match and I felt it immediately. Then when I woke up the day after, it was like throbbing and stuff...Didn't serve at all yesterday...It's the second time I had to withdraw from the finals...it kind of sucks because I thought I was playing well and I definitely wanted to win here." In evaluating herself and how she did this season she smiles and takes it easy saying "Surprisingly I think this year was better than last year, even though I cried way more this year than I did last year, but I also think that's a lesson that I learned."
Osaka didn't exactly escape this year injury-free when it was in April at the Stuttgart semifinal she withdrew because of an abdominal ailment. The Cincinnati Open with her bout with Sofia Kenin she had to retire because of a knee injury. She was leading in the final set 2-0 but couldn't stand the pain and bowed out saying "I'm kind of worried a little bit." Osaka's worry was the concern of trying to defend her U.S. Open title after Cincinnati and suffering with an injured knee. It as all better by then but Belinda Bencic got the better of her in the Round of 16 winning 7-5, 6-4 the Swiss' third time at defeating Osaka this year at Indian Wells, the Madrid Open and the U.S. Open. This withdrawal was another injury on the Australian Open champ's resume but hopefully it will be very temporary.
Osaka has tried to get her emotions in check and sort our her path for a more successful future. She admits that "After the U.S. Open I set goals and I came here (Shenzhen) with a purpose..." Osaka though that she'd do better in the third slam of the year but she didn't. She confesses that "Wimbledon was the lowest emotional feeling I ever felt." Losing in the first round to Russia's Yulia Putintseva was the most depressing but she overcame and made up for it throughout the year winning the Japan and China Open.
Naomi Osaka analyzes her work at being more physically and emotionally successful in the next season she says about her injury that "This is not how I wanted to end this tournament or my season. I look forward to getting healthy and hope to be back here in Shenzhen next year."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2N0i90e
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