Reuters
Naomi Osaka [Source: Reuters]
Naomi Osaka said she had taken a leaf out of Novak Djokovic’s tactical playbook and tweaked her return game at the Qatar Open after the former women’s world number one earned back-to-back wins for the first time in almost two years.
The 26-year-old from Japan struggled to find her rhythm after returning to the circuit last month following a 15-month break form the tour during which she had her first child.
Osaka lost in the second round in Brisbane in her first tournament back before falling at the first hurdle at the Australian Open and in Abu Dhabi.
However, after beating 15th seed Caroline Garcia, who defeated her at Melbourne Park, in the Doha first round she showed glimpses of her best form in a 6-3 7-6(9) win over Petra Martic on Tuesday to reach the last 16.
A technical tweak may have helped, she said.
Osaka, who last won two straight matches at tour level in 2022 at the Miami Open, said that a conversation with coach Wim Fissette sparked the adjustments to her game.
Osaka takes on Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko later on Wednesday.
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