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Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka has achieved a lot in her brief career. The 24-year-old has won both the US Open and the Australian Open twice. Her second US Open title in 2020 came in a difficult situation. The whole world was under covid-19 restrictions and it was severely impacting the tournaments.

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Osaka’s father could not join her in the tournament due to a similar reason. However, there was another special person who kept her motivated, her boyfriend Cordae. The former world number 1 later revealed how a special gesture from him helped her win the tournament.

Naomi Osaka credits boyfriend Cordae for her 2020 US Open win

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka defeated Victoria Azarenka in the final of the US Open 2020 to win the third Grand Slam of her career. Later in an interview, Osaka revealed that her boyfriend Cordae was a great support throughout the tournament.

Speaking of a special gesture, Osaka said, ” Honestly, he’s quite a romantic dude…In the U.S. Open, we had to quarantine and we couldn’t really have a lot of people there with us…During the whole New York thing and with everything that was going on, I started to feel really depressed. Sometimes I would call Cordae, and maybe in some of the calls I would cry. I don’t remember. And he flew out, even though he was really busy. I really appreciated that.”

Read more: ‘Tennis Is a Majority White Sport’- Naomi Osaka Says She Felt Scared When She Spoke About Social Issues

She further added, “I’m not sure if I’ve told him that. I feel like he actually really helped me win just, like, keeping up the motivation.”

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Osaka opens up on her recent failures

The former world number 1 has not been in great form recently. After she pulled out of the French Open 2021, Osaka is yet to regain her momentum. The last few tournaments in particular have been disappointing, as she could not go past the first round in three out of four. While an injury to her opponent meant she advanced to the second round of the Japan Open, she withdrew before the match due to illness.

Recently, the 24-year-old opened up about the disappointing year she has had. The four-time Grand Slam champion accepted that the year has been more of a downward spiral but he has learned a lot about herself. Further, the 24-year-old said that she is pretty happy with herself.

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Watch This Story: When Serena Williams had a hilarious challenge for Naomi Osaka’s former coach

Notably, Osaka hasn’t won a Grand Slam since the Australian Open 2021. However, with the immense talent she has, we hope the Japanese star can make a strong comeback soon.