Osaka says she plays better when she's calm, and hopes to maintain it
The 21-year-old has calmly made her way to her first Australian Open semifinal, where she faces Karolina Pliskova.
MELBOURNE—Naomi Osaka is winning Grand Slam matches just like she did at the US Open, but now she also wants to keep calm the way she did in the New York final.
The 21-year-old is into the semifinals of the Australian Open, and has often pumped herself up or gotten frustrated while coming through draws packed with crafty, steady players. She criticized her attitude two weeks before Melbourne after losing in the quarterfinals in Brisbane.
'‘Most people know me for [the] US Open," she said. "And during the US Open, I didn't show any emotions most of the time. But then after that, I did show—well in my opinion—a lot of emotions. Like, I got upset, and then I threw my racquet or stuff like that. And, for me, I don't really want to do that. I feel like I play better when I'm calm."
A calm attitude could help her perform even more consistently. Since winning the US Open, Osaka has reached the final of Tokyo and the semifinals of Beijing, but has yet to win another title.
"This is something that I have been working on a lot, which is trying to get deeper in tournaments more consistently," Osaka said. "But, yeah, for me right now I just try to keep looking forward. So I'm not really satisfied.
"I want to keep going."
Osaka is currently ranked No. 4, but she could end up as high as No. 1 depending on how the next few days play out.
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