Hsieh Su-Wei Reveals Lessons Learned From the Naomi Osaka Battle at Australian Open 2021

The Australian Open 2021 was a spectacle that ended with Naomi Osaka winning the title. However, it brought the magical Hsieh Su-Wei back into the limelight on the women’s singles’ tour.

Before 2021’s first major tournament, the Taiwanese professional had never crossed the fourth-round of a Grand Slam. However, upsetting two seeds at the Australian Open this year, the 35-year-old reached the single’s quarterfinals for the first time in her career.

In that match, she met the eventual champion of the tournament, Naomi Osaka. And despite losing, Hsieh had only positives to take from her competitor.

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Hsieh looks for improvement after losing to Naomi Osaka

Hsieh is full of wit and vivacity, both on and off the court. She has endured a long journey to reach where she is, and hence she focuses only on the greener side of things.

“Every moment is all very special, doesn’t matter if it’s winning or losing, because sometimes when you lose, you will learn a lot,” Hsieh said.

Further illustrating her glass-half-full outlook on life, she gave an example from her and Osaka’s quarterfinals match.

“Like [when] I played Naomi, I saw the number of her serve speed, I felt like: ‘Wow.’ You need to be looking forward, looking on the good parts. I’m this kind of person,” she said.

For the rest of 2021, the Taiwanese professional will be confident and will want to experiment with her unique gameplay on tour. However, she confessed that she might not be able to serve like Osaka.

“I try to go a little bit better because, you know, with my style, I would not serve like Naomi, but I will try to improve,” Hsieh concluded.

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What to expect from Hsieh Su-Wei and Osaka in 2021

Apart from the singles’ tour, the Taiwanese magician is a former doubles World No. 1 player. She lost her top rank after a second-round exit at the Australian Open 2021.

However, following the great start, Hsieh will seek to go deeper into the tournaments this year. At present, she has won only three WTA singles titles so far compared to her 28 in doubles.

For the Japanese star, the 2021 season is a great opportunity to win back the World No. 1 position. Hence, Naomi will schedule her priorities in a way to make the most of her time on the court.

All in all, the 2021 season has only begun, and fans are in for some great tennis matches ahead.

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