Naomi Osaka defeated Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 6-1 to reach the US Open third round. She controlled the baseline with superior weight of shot and showed improved movement and defence that absorbed Baptiste's offence. In Montreal she reached her first WTA 1000 final, beating three top-20 players after returning from maternity leave in January 2024. She struggled in that final against Victoria Mboko and faced criticism for not congratulating Mboko in her runner-up speech. Osaka expressed guilt and shame after Montreal, feeling worse for her team because they could not celebrate properly. She has performed well in two matches this week and appears positioned for a strong tournament run.
Naomi Osaka gave another demonstration of her growing confidence as she reached the third round of the US Open with an efficient 6-3, 6-1 win over Hailey Baptiste of the United States. Osaka, the No 23 seed, put together a dominant performance as she controlled the baseline with her superior weight of shot but also showcased her improved movement and defence, which allowed her to absorb Baptiste's offence.
I made sure to talk to her, because I know she's young, I don't know. I feel really terrible if that somehow impacted her humongous success. But she said it didn't and she didn't even really notice, so I was really glad about that. I was also really glad that she's such a sweet girl, which also just made me feel terrible even more.
Instead of appreciating her progress on the court, Osaka said she spent the days after Montreal processing guilt. I just felt really bad and, like, shame, she said. I think I felt worse for my team, because we couldn't really celebrate properly. They were with me this entire time, so they knew how big of a deal the final was.
Collection
[
|
...
]