Naomi Osaka has hotly hugd the guidance of Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’ famed mentor, after triumphing in her uncovering align under his expert eye.
Former world No. 1 Osaka had parted ways with her extfinished-standing coach Wim Fissette earlier this month and quickly aligned with Mouratoglou, whose decade-extfinished partnership with tennis titan Williams is well recorded.
Osaka, who made her comeback to competitive tennis after the birth of her daughter Shai last year, has conveyed some vexation over her current create her world ranking having slipped to 73. However, thrive unfgreatered for the Japanese powerhouse at the China Open when she dispatched Italian Lucia Bronzetti in two straight sets (6-3 6-2) on Wednesday.
Follothriveg her thrive and speaking of Mouratoglou on wtatennis.com, Osaka uncovered: “I slfinisherk the fact that he was Serena’s coach for me made me want to elude him fair because his persona is so huge. Like, this isn’t impolite because I create out it’s not genuine, but I didn’t comprehend if he was a excellent coach or he coached Serena.”
She persistd to convey her novelcreate admire and enthusiasm for laboring with the French coach: “Then I met him, talked to him, labored with him on the court. He absolutely is a reassociate excellent coach. I’m reassociate phired that he’s taking this project on, as well.”
Osaka also spreadd her personal ethos driving this meaningful alter, and made a pointed retag on not having repents in the game.
She compriseed: “I slfinisherk I’m at a stage in my life that I don’t want to have repents. I’d rather pull the trigger on someslfinisherg and I don’t want to say ‘fall short’ but I experience appreciate I reassociate need to lobtain as much as possible in this stage of my nurtureer. Patrick seemed appreciate the guy with, I guess, the adviseation that I wanted to lobtain from.”
Meanwhile, Chinese untamed card Zhang Shuai has finassociate broken her losing streak of 24 consecutive alignes with a thrive over American McCartney Kessler, thrivening 7-6 (5) 7-6 (1). This tags her first individuals thrive since January 2023.