Naomi Osaka didn’t hide her happiness after surviving a tense two-hour and 59-minute Miami marathon against Hailey Baptiste, even later claiming that her fitness level was better than the last time she won a Grand Slam title.
In the Miami third round, the 27-year-old Japanese battled hard and won a match in which she faced two set points in the first set and also a 2-4 deficit in the third set.
When Osaka launched her post-pregnancy comeback last year, it was clear that there was a lot of room to improve her fitness. But now, she believes that has been fixed.
“I feel like I’m better than 2021. You know, COVID really set me back, I’m not going to lie. I was in the house doing nothing. But yeah, fitness-wise definitely the best I’ve been in a couple of years, for sure,” the 2021 Australian Open champion said in Miami.
Osaka thinks she will be ready for Paolini
For a place in the Miami quarterfinal, the former world No. 1 will meet sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini, who is well-known for her court coverage and defense. With that being said, there is a good chance that the Japanese could be in line for another grindfest.
“I feel fine right now. I’m not sure about tomorrow morning. But I also feel like I’ve built up a pretty good tolerance and fitness. I think while I was playing, I felt like I could play some more, so I feel like that’s a good sign,” Osaka said.
The four-time Grand Slam champion has been pretty vocal about her big goal to return to winning Grand Slams at this stage of her career. For that to happen, she absolutely needs her fitness to be at its peak as that’s the only way to go through seven matches during a Slam tournament.
Tennis World USA