“Walked Around but Felt Guilty”: Naomi Osaka Reflects on Her Activities During Days off at Australian Open 2021

World No. 3 Naomi Osaka took on French tennis player Caroline Garcia in the second round of the Australian Open. The Japanese player registered a comfortable victory over the former World No. 4 tennis player. It took Osaka a little over an hour to record a 6-2 6-3 win over Garcia. 

Naomi served brilliantly, winning 86% of her first-serve points. She hit ten aces during the match and didn’t give her opponent a glimpse of a breakpoint on her service games. Overall, the Japanese starlet hit twenty-three winners and ended the match, winning 61 points as compared to Caroline’s 39 points.

Naomi Osaka: “Haven’t Played a Night Match in a Long Time”

After the match, Osaka stated, “It felt great. I haven’t played a night match in a really long time. Luckily it wasn’t too hot and I was happy about it. Just staying focused the entire match. With an opponent like her, you never know what she’ll do and how hard she’ll hit. I was just staying within myself.”

The 23-year-old also stated the activities she did upon her arrival in Australia. She found the environment to be fairly different from the one she experienced home in America. 

Naomi Osaka: “I Didn’t Know if People Were Staring at Me”

The three-time Grand Slam winner said, “Honestly, I just stay in my room. The first day I got here I was ok really excited because you guys get to do stuff unlike in America. So I walked around but I felt guilty, I didn’t know if people are staring at me. After that, I just stayed in my room and watched Netflix.”

After registering a victory in her second-round match, Osaka will be up against the Tunisian player Ons Jabeur on Friday. Jabeur beat the Slovakian player, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in straight sets. 

In the previous season, Naomi made an early exit after losing in the third round at the Australian Open. However, she was crowned champion in 2019. 

Also Read: “Tough Draw”: Martina Navratilova Defends Bianca Andreescu After Australian Open 2021 Exit