By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday May 11, 2024
Naomi Osaka has found her form on the clay, and will look for her first Top 10 win on the surface when she faces Zheng Qinwen next in Rome.
Photo Source: Getty
Naomi Osaka notched her first Top 20 win on clay on Thursday in Rome (d. No.20 Kostyuk, 6-3, 6-2). On Saturday, the four-time Grand Slam champion made it consecutive Top 20 wins, defeating No.11-ranked Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-3.
It’s big news, given that Osaka entered the Rome draw toting zero wins in eight previous encounters against the Top 20 on clay.
On Monday in the Italian Capital, Osaka will bid for another clay milestone: her first Top 10 win on the surface. The Japanese megastar will face this year’s Australian Open runner-up, Zheng Qinwen for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Also Read: Osaka's Clay Mission: No Regrets
Zheng, who defeated 29th-ranked Linda Noskova 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday, looks to make it back-to-back Rome quarterfinals, while Osaka will look to get back to the last eight at the Foro Italico for the first time since 2019.
No matter what happens, it has been an impressive uptick for Osaka, as she continues her comeback from maternity leave. She has won three matches in succession for the first time since Miami 2022 and is looking more and more comfortable on the clay, a surface which has always been tricky for her to master.
“I think winning three matches here is something that I'm extremely positive and happy about. I don't take it for granted at all. I want to keep going,” Osaka said. “I just want to see how far I can go.”
Two weeks ago in Madrid, Osaka recalls getting blitzed by Kasatkina in a practice match.
“I remember her beating me like 6-0, or 6-1, if I'm being generous to myself,” she said, smiling. “We were warming up before the actual practice set, and I was hanging in there with her. For some reason when the match started, I didn't really know how to play on clay. I didn't know how to structure the point.
“So obviously that's what I tried to learn a lot in Mallorca. I'm very happy that apparently I figured it out.”
Osaka says she has been working on hitting a heavier ball, loaded with topspin, which can be difficult for opponents to handle. She says watching video of Rafael Nadal’s legendary topspin drives have helped her see the light.
“It's definitely more mental,” Osaka said of her emphasis on heavy topspin, compared to the flatter ball she hits on hard courts. “I could always do it. I'm a little impatient. Obviously when you hit a heavier ball, for me, I feel like I think about a moon ball. It didn't really click until I was watching Nadal play and seeing how he actually accelerates so much when he’s [hitting his forehand that bounces really high off the court], knowing that a heavier ball sometimes is more difficult than a flatter shot.
“I feel like I just did a lot of homework.”
Regardless of the outcome of her next match, Osaka is already up 39 spots in the live rankings, from 173 to 134.
Friction Between Team Zheng and Team Osaka?
Osaka defeated Zheng in their only previous meeting at San Jose in 2022, but a lot has changed since for the top Chinese talent. She is in the Top 10 now, and reached her maiden major final this January at the Australian Open.
There’s also a bit of friction between the two teams, as Osaka’s current (and former) coach Wim Fisette, left Zheng’s team to return to his post with Osaka after last year’s US Open. It was a difficult moment for Zheng, who spoke publicly about the frustration she felt. She has since rehired Pere Riba, the Spaniard who formerly coached her, and was also a part of Coco Gauff’s team at last year’s US Open.
"I understand his decision, but my family and I feel hurt. Right now I don't want to talk about this person,” Zheng said of the situation last September.
Zheng has won 11 of her last 15 matches on clay dating back to her run to the quarterfinals at Rome last year.