Naomi Osaka said that she was excited to return to the US Open this season after missing out last time due to maternity break. Osaka has won four Grand Slams, out of which two have come at the Flushing Meadows. Last time when the Japanese star played in the US Open, she made an exit in the first round after losing to USA’s Danielle Collins.
Earlier this year, Osaka returned to majors in the Australian Open, after which she took part in the French Open. Ranked No.88 in the world currently, Osaka had a disappointing run recently after failing to go beyond the qualifiers in the Cincinnati Masters.
“I think when I got to Australia earlier this year and when I played the French Open (including a pulsating three-set thriller with world No.1 Iga Swiatek), honestly I’m a little shocked sometimes at the level,” Osaka was quoted as saying in the pre-tournament press conference.
‘Want to be in the Top 10’
Osaka said that she wants to put her best foot forward in the upcoming hard-court major. She also talked about her aspirations of finding her place back into the top 10 of the WTA rankings,
“Obviously I want to be in the Top 10, and I want to do all these things, but in the back of my mind, remember not being able to run, if that makes sense, or not being able to do a sit-up. In some moments I’m really amazed.
“I came here with the specific goal of doing the absolute best that I canâæ it’s a really incredible feeling to be back here,” Osaka added.
Osaka is set to begin their campaign on August 27 against Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who is also a former champion at Roland Garros. The two players have faced each other only once with Osaka beating her Latvian opponent in straight sets in the French Open 2016.