By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday, April 2, 2022
It is the familiar refrain after the Miami Open: on to the clay! And in 2022, that refrain takes on new meaning for Naomi Osaka, who is looking forward to growth on the surface as she puts her career back on track.
After her loss to Iga Swiatek in Saturday’s Miami Open final, the four-time major champion talked about her enthusiasm for the terre battue this spring. She says she plans to head to Europe a week before the Madrid Open to grab an extra week of training on the red clay for the first time in her career.
“I'm clearly not a clay expert, but, you know, I feel like if I get my movement together, I should be pretty good,” Osaka said.
Osaka has only won two matches on clay since the start of 2020, but to be fair he has not played much – just five matches. Over the course of her career, Osaka is 20-15 on clay and she has lost all seven matches she has played against the Top-20.
2019 was a better year for Osaka on clay. She went 9-2 and reached semifinals at Stuttgart and the quarterfinals at Madrid and Rome before falling in the third round at Roland-Garros. She told reporters on Saturday that she believes she can do well on clay. She added that watching Aryna Sabalenka have success at Madrid last year has also encouraged her.
“I grew up on green clay, being from here, so it shouldn't be that foreign to me,” she said. “And I know, you know, Madrid, Sabalenka won that last year, so I think that there is opportunities for me to do well, as well.
“I think I just have to get my mentality together to know that every match would be a fight.”
Osaka realizes she’ll face a lot of challenges on the surface, but she is hopeful that she can continue the momentum she has built over the last month when she arrives in Europe.
And maybe watching a few videos of the King of Clay will help…
“I know that French Open is far away, and the clay season is upcoming, but I think my goal there is just to keep a positive outlook on life,” she said. “I'm going to watch a lot of Nadal videos to see how he moves. Shout out, Alcaraz, because he's killing it.
“I just think that knowing I'm still a student and I have to keep learning. Clay and grass is something I really want to tackle this year. So I'm willing kind of to do whatever it takes to get good results. Not that results are everything, but I really want to do well.”