Osaka ‘anxious’ ahead of US Open

NEW YORK: Naomi Osaka believes that the pressure she has put on herself to turn around her on-court struggles in time for the US Open has left her “very anxious” heading into the year’s final Grand Slam.

Osaka, who counts two New York titles among her four career Grand Slam triumphs and has been open about her mental health struggles, revealed her feelings when asked about her mindset ahead of the August 29-September 11 US Open. “I feel like I would have lied, like, a day ago or so and said that I was really relaxed. But actually, like, when I practised, I felt very anxious,” Japan’s Osaka told reporters.

“I think it is because I really want to do well as I feel I have not been doing well lately.” Osaka’s hard court swing leading into the US Open has been rough as she lost in the second round in San Jose, retired from her first-round match in Toronto with a back injury and fell at the first hurdle in Cincinnati.

That trio of tournaments marked the former World No.1’s first events since the French Open, where she lost in the first round, as she recovered from an Achilles injury. But, Osaka hopes a return to the New York hard courts, where she triumphed in 2018 and 2020 and last year lost to eventual finalist Leylah Fernandez, will help to find her way.

Osaka, who has fallen to 44th in the rankings, will open her US Open campaign against 19th-seeded American Danielle Collins. “It is tough. Like, of course, you do not want to lose in the first round of a Slam. I feel like I always do pretty well here. It is kind of, like, taking the pressure off myself, but it is always going to be there,” said Osaka.

Nadal laments Djokovic’s absence

Rafael Nadal said it was sad news that his great rival Novak Djokovic would be missing from the US Open, adding that the absence of a player of the Serbian’s calibre was an important miss for the Grand Slam.

Djokovic, who won Wimbledon to take his major singles titles to 21, has opted not to be vaccinated against COVID-19. He said on Thursday that he could not fly to New York for the year’s final Grand Slam. “From my personal perspective, it is very sad news,” Nadal, who leads the men’s Grand Slam race with 22 titles, told reporters.

“It is always a shame when the best players of the world are not able to play a tournament because of injuries or because of different reasons. In this case, not having one of the best players of the history in the draw of Grand Slam is always an important miss,” opined Nadal.