Naomi Osaka: I could have kept going if I really needed to which is a good sign

Fourth seeded Naomi Osaka is through to the fourth round of the US Open in New York after a hard-fought three-set win over Ukrainian teen Marta Kostyuk and later said she was not very happy about her performance in the second set.

After winning the first set, Osaka had six break-point opportunities to go up 3-1 in the second set, but Kostyuk fought back to take the set in a tie-breaker. Osaka did manage to bounce back in the third set and complete the 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 victory to move into the last 16 in New York.

Naomi Osaka comes through after dropping second set in tie-break

Speaking to the press in New York, Osaka says, "I guess I would say the thing that made me most displeased was probably the decisions that I was making and the fact that I started becoming way too passive and hoping that she would, you know, make an unforced error. For me, I felt everything was going really well for her during the tiebreak. And I remember she came to the net, and I hit it as hard as I could towards her, and she made it, and for me I was just, like, Whoa, this is unbelievable. But, yeah, I would just say I was very displeased with how I was performing towards the end of the second set."

Osaka may be only 22 years old but says taking on players younger than her, like the 18 year old Kostyuk who was playing her first main draw at the US Open, does not surprise her anymore.

"Honestly not really anymore, to be honest. Like, after I played Coco twice, I just feel like, you know what? She's probably the youngest person ever. So anyone that I play that's, you know, younger than me, I'm just going to be aware that they worked very hard to be, you know, on the other side of the net from me, and I have to treat them with respect and, I don't know, try my best to beat them, I guess."

The 22 year old Osaka also spoke about the leg injury that forced her to pull out of the Western & Southern Open in New York last weekend, saying that although she is not 100%, she is feeling much better. "I felt like I was moving well today. It could be better, but I think for a three-set match, the amount of movement that I did, and the fact that I felt like I could have kept going if I really needed to is definitely a good sign."

Naomi Osaka, a winner here in 2018, will now take on the no. 14 seeded Anett Kontaveit for a spot in the quarter-finals of the US Open.

(Image Credit - US Open)

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