By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday February 20, 2021
It sounds like Naomi Osaka is planning a long career. After earning her fourth Grand Slam title on Saturday in Melbourne the 23-year-old says she would like play long enough to compete against somebody who once named her as an idol.
“I feel like the biggest thing that I want to achieve is—this is going to sound really odd, but hopefully I play long enough to play a girl that said that I was once her favorite player or something,” Osaka told reporters.
The four-time Grand Slam champion was able to defeat her idol, the legendary Serena Williams, in straights sets in the semifinals in Australia, but she did express regret for not having the opportunity to play another of her idols, and a woman who is also on the Australian Open hall of honor like herself.
“For me, I think that's the coolest thing that could ever happen to me,” Osaka said. “I think I have those feelings of, you know, watching my favorite players. Unfortunately I didn't get to play Li Na, but, yeah, I just think that that's how the sport moves forward.”
With her victory in Australia, Osaka is poised to rise to No.2 in Monday’s WTA rankings, but the Japanese star says that returning to the No.1 ranking is not something that motivates her.
“Honestly, I don't really think about the ranking at all,” she said. “For me, I don't play the most tournaments in the tour. You know, like, I just want to do well in all of the tournaments that I play. That's my goal is to be consistent this year, not to have a huge drop- off randomly in the middle section like June, July, you know, how I usually do. But, yeah, I don't want to think too much about the rankings. It will come if I play well, and that's what I tell myself.”