‘I Was Completely Dead’ – Naomi Osaka Recalls Her 2018 Miami Clash With Serena Williams While Appreciating Iga Swiatek

Published 04/03/2022, 2:34 AM EDT

After a disappointing outing in Indian Wells, Naomi Osaka, seeking resurgence, returned to form at the recently concluded Miami Masters. She dropped just a solitary set en route to her title clash in Miami, displaying glimpses of her old, resilient self. However, she could not carry that form into the final and suffered a 4-6, 0-6 straight-sets defeat against an unstoppable Iga Swiatek.

During the post-match press conference, Osaka was answering a question about Iga Swiatek’s dominance so far this season. Answering the question, Osaka went down memory lane, recalling her 2018 Sunshine Doubles campaign. She also gave an insight into the difficulty of playing back-to-back events.

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Naomi Osaka showers praise on Swiatek for completing the ‘Sunshine Double’

During the press conference, Osaka was asked to express her views on Swiatek’s rise following her memorable win at the ‘Sunshine Double’.

Prior to their clash in Miami, Osaka previously locked horns against Swiatek at the 2019 Rogers Cup. Osaka outplayed Swiatek in straight sets back then. The two have been sharing a friendly bond ever since. Witnessing Swiatek’s meteoric rise on the tour, Osaka said, “It’s been really cool to watch her grow.”

‘Federer and Nadal Played So Many Different Times’- Naomi Osaka Opens up on Rivalry With Iga Swiatek

Naomi Osaka has played the Sunshine Doubles a total of 5 times so far. Being an experienced player, Osaka is quite aware of the pressure of featuring in back-to-back tournaments. With her triumph in Indian Wells and Miami, Swiatek became just the 4th woman to win the ‘Sunshine Double’. Following the Pole’s victory, Osaka could not stop herself from going all praise for the 20-year-old.

The former World No. 1 admitted that she is extremely impressed by Swiatek’s win at the Sunshine Double. She further asserted that following an Indian Wells title, even reaching the quarterfinals of Miami would have been impressive for her, considering the straining conditions.

“For me, I think the most impressive thing is like being able to string together these two wins in a row. Not even back-to-back-to-back wins but going from Indian Wells and like even getting to the quarters of this tournament to me would be impressive”, she said.

Osaka recalls her 2018 Indian Wells campaign

In 2018, Osaka won her first-ever title on the WTA tour at the Indian Wells Masters in the Californian desert. She beat some o the top names of the sport like Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep en route to her triumph.

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Following her victory in the Californian desert, she next entered the Miami Open. In the opening round, she was up against the legendary Serena Williams. Even though she beat her ‘idol’, the aftereffect of playing in back-to-back tournaments was evident in her second-round clash. Osaka was outplayed by the 4th seed, Elina Svitolina.

Praising Swiatek for her incredible run, Osaka recalled her campaign at the 2018 Sunshine Double saying, “I personally know, like, how tiring it was to like — I had to play Serena right after I won Indian Wells, and then I was completely dead after that. But she’s like, it seems she keeps going. So that’s really amazing to see.”

Despite her loss in the final, Osaka can draw huge confidence from her run at the Miami Masters this year. She should be hopeful of translating that form into the clay season as well.

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Watch This Story: Near and dear ones of tennis star Naomi Osaka

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Written by:

Ahmar Wasif is a tennis author at EssentiallySports. He is a national level tennis player and has a number of titles to his name. His experience on the court allows him to incorporate a deeper understanding in his coverage of the sport.

Edited by:

Niranjan Deodhar

‘I Was Completely Dead’ – Naomi Osaka Recalls Her 2018 Miami Clash With Serena Williams While Appreciating Iga Swiatek

Naomi Osaka showers praise on Swiatek for completing the ‘Sunshine Double’

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Osaka recalls her 2018 Indian Wells campaign