Osaka On Federer’s Positive Influence

As a child, Naomi Osaka ran to Roger Federer's practice court. As an adult, Osaka nearly ran Federer over.Two-time Grand Slam champion Osaka reflected on how Federer's cool disposition on court inspired her positive outlook.Djokovic: Four As Good as Big 3A self-described fan of both Federer and Rafael Nadal, Osaka's Fed-fandom dates back to her days growing up in Florida."I used to live in Florida, so I went to the [Miami] Open… so it was just really cool to walk around and run to [Federer's] practice court when everyone found out that he was practicing and just see his demeanor and stuff," Osaka said after her 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 Western & Southern Open win over Karolina Muchova. "Because for me, like, just how you project yourself is something that's really cool."Because I found myself watching some players that were really negative and thinking to myself, like, wow, I don't think I would ever root for them. For me, that's how I try to outwardly be more positive."

Osaka faced off against Federer and partner Belinda Bencic at the 2017 Hopman Cup—and recalls a near collision with the Grand Slam king when she was racing through the hallway en roue to her match."There wasn't a sign that said no running in the halls," Osaka said. "I was kind of late to my match, so, yeah, I almost caused, like, a catastrophic injury to a sports legend. Oopsy. It was fine, though."Photo credit: Hopman Cup]]>