After a miserable 2021, Naomi Osaka started this season by promising to be kinder to herself. This ambition was sorely tested on Friday, when her defence of the Australian Open title came to grief against 20-year-old American Amanda Anisimova.
Despite her narrow 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 defeat – which included a couple of match points she was unable to convert – Osaka remained relaxed and philosophical during her post-match interviews. She acknowledged the star quality of Anisimova’s performance and stressed that she could not be angry with herself when she had “tried the best that I could”.
“I’m not God,” added Osaka, who is now back on speaking terms with the media after her press-conference boycott from last year’s French Open. “I can’t win every match. So, I just have to take that into account and know that it would be nice to win the tournament, but that’s really special, you know. I can’t, like, think of myself to try to win the grand slam at the start of the year every time.”
Osaka even managed a smile, which made for a stark contrast with her loss to eventual runner-up Leylah Fernandez in the third round of September’s US Open. On that occasion, she broke down in tears, and warned that she would have to take some time away from the game. She also said that she was struggling to enjoy her wins, while feeling “very sad” when she lost.
A self-confessed perfectionist, Osaka has returned to the tour this season with a stated desire to rediscover her love of the game. She has been keeping a gratitude journal, burning candles in her room, and meditating. Her tennis – so slick here 12 months ago – has shown understandable signs of rust after her long lay-off. But her wider campaign of self-improvement seems to be heading along the right road.
“For me, I feel like I grew a lot in this match,” Osaka said. “The last match that I played in New York, I think I had a completely different attitude, so I’m really happy … Of course, I lost, but I’m happy with how it went.”
Anisimova’s return to form is another welcome sight, for there were fears that her career might be derailed when her father and mentor, Konstantin, died suddenly in August 2019. Only a couple of months earlier, Anisimova had reached the French Open semi-finals at the tender age of 17, sweeping opponents aside with one of the most lethal two-handed backhands ever seen.
