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By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday October 8, 2019


Naomi Osaka has achieved great success this Asian Swing, but the World No.3 is setting her sights on keeping her current hot streak alive and winning the WTA Finals at Shenzhen at the end of the month.

“It’s gonna be the last push of the year, honestly I just want to keep this streak going,” she told WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen on Sunday after claiming the China Open title. “I really want to win Shenzhen too, so that’s my main goal and I know that I’m just going to train really hard for that.”

Osaka, who has had her share of struggles over the last six months, says she knew she had to give more of herself in order to get her season properly back on track this fall. She told Nguyen that at times she has struggled with expectations, and also regret.

“I just feel like for me the expectations when I play a tournament are like finals, so anything below that is just kind of I’m not performing how I should be,” she said. “I’m fine with losing if I know I tried my best. When I played my last match in the US Open I know there was a part of me that held back. For me it’s just hard to unlock that part and it’s not something I can readily control and that’s why I have a lot of ups and downs.”

The former World No.1 and two-time Slam champion says she came to Asia with a clear plan about how she wanted to play—and think—her way through matches.


“I felt like I had a clear specific plan of what I wanted to do,” she said. “I think I was really focused these past three weeks. I just have to keep fighting and that’s something that I noticed throughout this tournament specifically. When I played Bianca [Andreescu] there were moments where I was just like ‘Man this is gonna be it,’ but then I kept telling myself ‘Maybe something will change if you keep fighting for every point and maybe you’ll get opportunities,’ and I did. I just think mentality [has been the difference for me].

The Japanese megastar has parted ways with two coaches in 2019, and while she does not plan to stay with her father Leonard Francois as her head coach, she does admit that he was very helpful over these last few weeks in Asia.

Nguyen asked Osaka if she gained comfort from the moments when her father and coach told her to trust herself on the court during the pair's on-court coaching session, essentially giving her the responsibility.

Tennis Express

“He knows that I overthink,” Osaka said. “Like literally when I play all I can think is percentages and formulas… so yeah, my dad can kind of sense that and he knows when I’m thinking too much. When he tells me that he trusts me it just helps me relax a little bit. When he says that it helps me trust myself too at the same time.”

And now it’s off to Tokyo, where Osaka will train and have a bit of fun as she prepares for a very important season finale in Shenzhen. With ten consecutive wins under her belt she’ll be confident—and humble.

“At the end of the day I know who I am,” she said. “I know what I’m capable of, so yeah for me I just try to get better every day.”

 

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