“Rafael Nadal Was Right Next to Me” – Naomi Osaka Star-struck By Big Names

Published 01/18/2020, 2:00 PM EST

The top-notch tennis players came for Rally for Relief event in Melbourne and raised nearly A $5 million for the bushfire victims in Australia. The tennis followers were amused to see Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Caroline Wozniacki, Nick Kyrgios, Coco Gauff, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Naomi Osaka, Dominic Thiem, and Petra Kvitova on the same court.

The Japanese ace Naomi Osaka was star-stuck after playing amidst the world’s best tennis players.“I’m thinking like, Bro, oh my God. Because Nadal was right next to me too right?” Osaka said. “It’s the best players in the world, what are you talking about? I just got here. This is my second year kind of being on the higher level, but they’ve been there since I was little, low key.”

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The two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka was sitting right beside Serena, and but the Japanese ace was nervous to talk to her. Williams is the reason why she picked up a tennis racquet. Osaka’s father drew inspiration from the Williams sisters compete at the French Open 1999 and introduced his daughters to tennis. He emulated the role of Richard Williams (Serena and Venus’ father) and produced a Grand Slam champion.

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Naomi Osaka on Serena Williams

“I’m going to have to give you a briefing of how I am as a person,” Osaka continued. “I don’t talk to people, I just stare at them from a distance. That’s the lesson No.1. Lesson No. 2 is that if I were to talk to Serena, she talks to me and I get surprised that she talks to me, and then I don’t talk back. I blank out when she talks to me, to be honest. I’m trying really hard to get the courage because, for me, it’s very odd. She’s the one that I admire, and the whole US Open thing, whatever, and she’s still so nice to me. It’s weird.”

World Number four Naomi Osaka is entering the Australian Open 2020 as the defending champion. Before coming to Melbourne she squandered a match point in Brisbane’s semifinals against Karolina Pliskova. She will open against Marie Bouzkova in Melbourne and projected to meet Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

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Australian Open 2020 Women’s Draw: Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams on Collision Course

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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.

“Rafael Nadal Was Right Next to Me” – Naomi Osaka Star-struck By Big Names

Naomi Osaka on Serena Williams

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