DOHA – Naomi Osaka said she had taken a leaf out of Novak Djokovic’s tactical playbook and tweaked her return game at the Qatar Open after the former women’s world No. 1 earned back-to-back wins for the first time in almost two years.
The 26-year-old from Japan struggled to find her rhythm after returning to the circuit in January, following a 15-month break from the tour during which she had her first child, Shai.
Osaka lost in the second round in Brisbane in her first tournament back before falling at the first hurdle at the Australian Open and in Abu Dhabi.
However, after beating 15th seed Caroline Garcia, who defeated her at Melbourne Park, in the Doha first round, she showed glimpses of her best form in a 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) win over Petra Martic of Croatia on Feb 13 to reach the last 16.
A technical tweak may have helped, she said.
“I did change my return – I don’t want to say ‘style’ but I guess form. I don’t know how to describe it,” the four-time Grand Slam champion told reporters.
“Like, before I was taking one step, one step, and then jumping in, but now I’m just jumping in with both feet because apparently Djokovic does that, so why not copy the best returner in the world?”
Osaka, who last won two straight matches at tour level in 2022 at the Miami Open, said that a conversation with coach Wim Fissette sparked the adjustments to her game.
“It was frustrating knowing that my serve is one of the best serves, dare I say, in the world,” Osaka added.
“But I just wanted to work on the things I know should be a lot better and the return was one of them. We were talking about it a lot in the off-season and leaving Melbourne, definitely needed to improve it.”
She was set to play world No. 37 Lesia Tsurenko but received a walkover after the Ukrainian, who knocked out fourth seed Ons Jabeur, pulled out with an elbow injury.
Osaka will meet another former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova for a place in the last four.
US Open champion and world No. 3 Coco Gauff lost 6-2, 6-4 to Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in her opening match, marking the first time she has failed to reach the quarter-finals of a tournament since Wimbledon 2023.
Siniakova, however, could not build on her success as she lost in straight sets to Danielle Collins in the next round.
Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen of China was also sent packing after a 7-5, 6-3 defeat by Leylah Fernandez.
“I’m extremely pumped up, I’m super happy with my level. There’s still a lot of work to do, but so far so good, so we’re just going to keep going,” said Fernandez.
World No. 38 Fernandez, a former US Open finalist, goes on to meet third seed Elena Rybakina, who beat 16th-seeded American Emma Navarro 6-1, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also progressed to the last eight with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.
Meanwhile, Grand Slam champions Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki have been awarded wild cards for the Indian Wells tournament in March.
Williams, a seven-time Major champion, has not played since an early exit from the 2023 US Open after a humbling defeat by qualifier Greet Minnen in the first round.
The 43-year-old American and former world No. 1 will return to Indian Wells for the first time since 2019, when she reached the quarter-finals.
Wozniacki, 33, made a comeback in 2023 after a three-year break during which she became a mother of two. She reached the fourth round of the US Open, where she lost to Gauff, and made it to the second round of the Australian Open in January.
A former world No. 1 and Australian Open champion (2018), the Danish player will compete in the March 6-17 Indian Wells tournament after a five-year hiatus, having won in 2011. REUTERS, AFP
