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‘I Stole One of the Things That He Did’ – Naomi Osaka Picks a Trick Out of Rafael Nadal’s Book to Succeed on Clay
It looked like the 2022 season of Naomi Osaka was going off-track. She had a disappointing start to the year, with early losses in big tournaments. Earlier this year, Naomi failed to defend her Australian Open crown, losing in the third round against Amanda Anisimova of the United States.
Subsequently, she dropped out of the top-50 of the WTA rankings. Further, she suffered another early defeat at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, bowing out of the tournament in the second round. However, Naomi has got her season back on track after finishing second-best at the Miami Open.
The Japanese star is gearing up for the clay-court season. Recently, she opened up about how she is preparing for the upcoming tournaments.
Naomi Osaka following Rafael Nadal closely for the clay-court season
During an interview, the former World Number 1 talked about adjusting her game for the clay courts. She said, “I changed a couple of things, I think you guys will be able to tell when I play, I don’t want to spoil the surprise. I would say I did change a couple of things to suit myself more for clay.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 30: Naomi Osaka of Japan celebrates against Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic during their Women’s Singles first round match on Day One of the 2021 US Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 30, 2021 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Further, Naomi added, “Yes, I think I stole one of the things that he (Nadal) did and I’ve been practicing it recently. It’ll either go really good or really bad. There’s like no in between. But I think as I’ve been doing it, it’s been going pretty well.”
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After digging deep at the Miami Open, Naomi has entered the top-50 in the WTA rankings. She is currently stationed at the 36th position. The 24-year-old is in Spain to participate at the Madrid Open. She has been handed a wildcard entry to play in the tournament. She will take on in-form, Anastasia Potapova, in the first round. Can Osaka win her first title this season in Madrid? Let us know your views in the comments below.
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