‘Heart on Their Sleeve’: Naomi Osaka Returns Compliment to Andy Murray Following Her Masterclass Performance in R2 at Australian Open 2022

Published 01/19/2022, 8:47 AM EST

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka is one of the most dominant players in the game right now. There are very few athletes on the WTA Tour who can get the better of her on hard courts and she already has 4 Grand Slam titles to show for her dominance.

At the moment, Osaka has started her title defense at the Australian Open 2022. She won her second-round match today in straight sets and displayed some top-quality tennis against the American Madison Brengle.

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Andy Murray is in awe of Osaka’s ground strokes

One prominent player from the men’s section was following her match, and he ended up complimenting the four-time Grand Slam winner on Twitter. It was none other than Andy Murray.

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After coming across his compliment, the defending champion returned the praise and spoke highly about Andy’s character as an athlete.

Anyone put their heart on their sleeve and fight harder than @andy_murray ? 🥺🙏🏾🔥 https://t.co/c6G2SA2Ycx
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) January 19, 2022

It all began when Murray initially stated, “Anyone hit the ball cleaner from the baseline than Naomi Osaka?” To which, Osaka later replied, “Anyone put their heart on their sleeve and fight harder than Andy Murray?”

Murray definitely showed the grit and determination that Osaka talked about in his first round match as he beat Nikoloz Basilashvili in a five-set thriller, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-4. Opening round matches can be tricky, and it was positive that the five-time finalist overcame the first hurdle. He’ll face Taro Daniel of Japan in the second round.

Naomi Osaka is cruising through the initial rounds

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On the other hand, Osaka has already booked her spot in the third round of the Australian Open 2022 and will be up against American tennis player Amanda Anisimova.

We wish both Naomi and Murray the best of luck for their upcoming encounters and hope they can go as deep as possible in the tournament.

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Rohan Kollare is a Tennis author at EssentiallySports. Rohan has studied Sports Management and has a trophy cabinet adorned with accolades won in district and state-level tennis competitions. He has previously worked in Content Operations for Disney’s Hotstar for over a year, covering Tennis and Formula One.

‘Heart on Their Sleeve’: Naomi Osaka Returns Compliment to Andy Murray Following Her Masterclass Performance in R2 at Australian Open 2022

Andy Murray is in awe of Osaka’s ground strokes

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Naomi Osaka is cruising through the initial rounds