‘I Get Really Emotional When I Play People Around My Age’ – Naomi Osaka Comments on Her Upcoming Semifinal Clash With Belinda Bencic in Miami

After struggling to find her form on the tour for a long time, Naomi Osaka finally held her nerve, making a solid comeback at the Miami Open. The Japanese sensation recently beat Danielle Collins in the fourth round, to set up a semifinal clash with Belinda Bencic.

During her fourth-round post-match press conference, Osaka spoke about her previous matches with Bencic. She also spoke about what she goes through when playing a player of her age or younger.

Naomi Osaka on playing young players in previous years

Osaka and Bencic last played at the 2019 US Open. During that phase, Osaka was the top-ranked player in the world, being the hot favorite in all the tournaments. A similar scenario was at the 2019 US Open. The first-seeded Osaka cruised past her opponents in the previous rounds.

In the third round, she beat Coco Gauff in straight sets. However, her cruising run came to a halt in the fourth round, where she was outplayed by Belinda Bencic, who is just 7 months older than Osaka.

Recently, during her fourth-round press conference in Miami, Osaka recalled her clash with Bencic. The Japanese sensation asserted that playing with the same-aged or younger-aged player used to put her under a lot of pressure.

She said, “It’s so weird, I don’t know if I should say this, but whatever, I just feel like I get really emotional when I play people around my age or younger. I don’t know if it’s like this thing that I want to be better than them, but I just automatically put a lot of pressure on myself.”

Naomi Osaka has faced Coco Gauff thrice in her career, winning two of the three meetings. Gauff, who is 6 years younger than Osaka, had beaten Osaka in the third round of the 2020 Australian Open. Recently, during the press conference, Osaka confessed that it was after her loss to Gauff that she realized she needs to respect the young players.

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“I kind of acknowledged that after I lost to Coco that one year. I’m just like, you know what? I’m at an age there is going to be a bunch of young, really good players, and I have to respect them and know that they are here for a reason. I was once in their shoes,” she said.

Osaka on her upcoming semifinal clash with Bencic

The 2022 Miami Open has been her most successful Miami campaign so far in her career. This year, she has not only reached her maiden semifinals in Miami but has done it without dropping a single set.

Recently, Osaka confessed that her mentality played a major factor in her losses against players of similar age. However, on the contrary, she also confessed she has worked through it and hopes to reflect on it during her semifinal clash with Bencic.

She said, “I think like my mentality was a very big part in my losses back then. Hopefully, it will be better, because I feel like I have kind of worked through it. So hopefully, tomorrow, not tomorrow, whenever the match is, Thursday, it will be more about tennis.”

Belinda Bencic has been a solid player since the time she entered the tour. In 2020, she reached her career-high ranking, becoming the World No. 4. In 2021, she also became the first Swiss player to win an Olympic Gold in tennis singles. Even though she is currently ranked 28th in the world, her in-form game never fails to surprise her on-court opponents.

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Naomi Osaka feels no different. She ended her say by going all heart for the Swiss player. “Yeah, she’s a really good tennis player. She won the gold in Tokyo, which I really wanted to win. Yeah, I mean, she’s clearly, you know, ranked where she is for a reason,” she said.