Osaka says, “I sort of stress myself out in a way “

Published 10/06/2018, 7:01 PM EDT

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After ending her winning streak in her hometown in Tokyo, Naomi Osaka began her journey in the China Open. In Beijing, Osaka created history by becoming the first Japanese to reach the semifinals of the China Open. The unseeded Latvian, Anastasija Sevastova swept side the reigning US Open champion in the last four of the Beijing event.  She would set up her final against the second seed Dane, Caroline Wozniacki. Sevastova denied Osaka to clinch her maiden title in China. Despite her 6-4, 6-4 loss will rise to a career-high ranking of Number 4, on Monday.

via Imago

“I think definitely as the weeks go by, I have this feeling of wanting to prove myself,” Osaka said. “I think that sort of takes a toll on me a little bit because I sort of stress myself out in a way.” By playing tournaments back-to-back, has caused exhaustion in Osaka. She did not have any explicit goals before arriving in China. “I think after Tokyo, coming to this tournament, I wasn’t really 100% sure I was going to win my first match even. I think just to make it this far, hopefully, I get to carry this momentum,” she said

via Imago

Since the Japanese women, Kimiko Date in 1995, Osaka is the highest-ranked Japanese tennis player. “Actually I was talking to Kimiko in the French Open,” she said. “I think that was right after I won Indian Wells. We were talking about how my ranking was high, that she had the highest ranking, which was 4. I was like, Oh, it would be nice to get there. But I wasn’t really thinking too much that I would do it this year. I think it’s really amazing that I was able to do it. Of course, I want to keep going.”

Osaka was diagnosed with a back injury, major due to fatigue before the beginning of the Chinese tournament. “I got assessed, and I was told that it wasn’t, like, a life-threatening injury,” she said. “It’s basically just a matter of resting.” It’s just due to the fatigue caused by playing a lot of matches. 

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Mahalakshmi Murali

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Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.
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