Naomi Osaka Shares How Amanda Anisimova Behaved with Her Three Years Ago After Grand Slam Upset

Naomi Osaka has secured a place in the Canadian Open quarterfinals and will lock horns with Elina Svitolina next.

Naomi Osaka Shares How Amanda Anisimova Behaved with Her Three Years Ago After Grand Slam Upset

Naomi Osaka, Amanda Anisimova (Image via X/We Are Tennis, The Tennis Letter)

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After a series of poor performances that led to early exits this season, Naomi Osaka, it seems, has finally found her form. In the ongoing Canadian Open, she took another stride toward her first title of the season by beating Anastasija Sevastova in the fourth round.

She will be up against Elina Svitolina in the last eight. The Ukrainian ace, before scheduling the match against the four-time Grand Slam champion, breezed past Amanda Anisimova.

Osaka, during her press conference after her fourth-round win, was asked about the matches she has played against Anisimova. One match she very well remembers is their clash in the third round of the 2022 Australian Open. Osaka was very upset, especially because of the fact that she was playing the tournament as the defending champion. But Anisimova’s behavior after her win touched the 27-year-old’s heart.

I think for me, I was just really emotional, because I was defending, I think, at the time. She was super nice to me after that, and she’s a really nice girl. I do follow her journey because I respect her a lot, and I think she’s one of the best tennis players in the world, which, of course, not that she has to prove it, but she’s showing that.

Osaka has met Anisimova two times in her career. Following their Melbourne clash, they locked horns in the first round of the Roland Garros the same year, and there too, the American ace prevailed.

During that press conference, Osaka also said Anisimova losing her Wimbledon final was quite “sad” but expressed her wish to see her bounce back. Anisimova was handed double bagels by Iga Swiatek at this year’s Wimbledon, and the scoreline made the Pole the second woman after Steffi Graf to win a Grand Slam title with a 6-0, 6-0 scoreline.

While Osaka is chasing her first title since her 2021 Australian Open win, Anisimova has reached two finals and won her career’s first WTA 1000 trophy at the Qatar Open. Osaka has reached just the ASB Classic final this season, where an injury forced her to hand the walkover to Clara Tauson.

Naomi Osaka recalls writing a report about Serena Williams

Naomi Osaka grew up idolizing Serena Williams. So much so that Osaka even wrote a report in her third grade about Williams when asked to write about her role model.

Serena Williams
Serena Williams (Image via X/We Love Tennis)

I think the school was asking who is your role model and why is the person your role model and stuff like that. I think I wrote my role model is Serena, and then I have cut out a printed photo of her because she is the greatest tennis player of all time, and she is an amazing role model figure for me, and stuff like that.

Naomi Osaka said on the Jay Shetty podcast

Osaka clinched three wins in the four matches she played against the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, including in the final of the 2018 US Open and the semifinals of the 2021 Australian Open. Williams called time on her career at the 2022 US Open.

Against her Montreal quarterfinal opponent, Elina Svitolina, Osaka has played seven matches and holds a 4-3 head-to-head edge. They last squared off against each other in the second round of the 2024 Miami Open, which the former World No.1 won in straight sets.

Osaka, since her 2021 Australian Open win, has reached just two finals, as apart from this year’s ASB Classic, she had also made it to the summit clash of the 2022 Miami Open. In Montreal, Osaka has never progressed beyond the quarterfinals, reaching the stage in 2019. She so far has two WTA 1000 titles to her name: the 2018 Indian Wells and the 2019 Cincinnati Masters.

Also read: Alex de Minaur Opens Up About Feeling Mentally Burned Out Due to the Ever-Growing Demands of the Men’s Circuit