‘I Can’t Let Her Push Me Back’- Naomi Osaka Is Wary of ‘Aggressive’ Danielle Collins Challenge at Miami Open 2022

Naomi Osaka has been in excellent form since the start of the Miami Open 2022. She defeated Alison Riske to reach the quarter-finals of the tour. She will now face the Australian Open finalist, Danielle Collins, in the next round. The Japanese player shared her insight on playing against Collins and what she would mainly focus on while playing with her.

Naomi Osaka on facing Danielle Collins

After struggling for form at the start of the year, Osaka seems to be getting back to her best. She would now face Danielle Collins in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open 2022. When asked about her opponent, she said, “I think she’s a really tough opponent. She’s been playing really well. She’s very aggressive.” Osaka complimented the player on her gameplay, though that hardly came as a surprise to her.

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Furthermore, elaborating on her stance towards dealing with her opponent, Osaka said, “I just need to somehow be in control at all times. I can’t let her push me back.”

She would get a whole analysis from her coach Wim Fissette on how to play against her opponent. Naomi added, “But right now my gut instinct thinking about the match is just to be as aggressive as I can and put the ball in at the same time.”

Osaka in 2022

The Japanese player had started off the year 2022 with a rough start. She had to bid farewell to the Indian Wells after losing a match against Veronika Kudermetova. Moreover, she had to deal with the heckling incident in her last match at the Indian Wells.

Naomi received support from a lot of players, and she has started to see a therapist as well. Her performance in the Miami Open has been astounding, and she is pleased with her performance at the Hard Rock Stadium.

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Danielle Collins and Naomi Osaka have faced each other twice in court before. They have played in 2018 in Beijing and then in Indian Wells in the year 2019. In both matches, the Japanese player has come out victorious. Besides that, Collins is suffering from nagging neck pain, but she has still stayed persistent and is winning the matches.

However, last year Naomi Osaka was ousted by Maria Sakkari in the semi-finals of the Miami Open. So, we would be waiting for the results of a nail-biting match between the two players.