“I would never play a match thinking lowly of myself,” Naomi Osaka confident of giving a tough fight to potential next round opponent Iga Swiatek

Naomi Osaka is ready to play mind games with the World No.1.

“I would never play a match thinking lowly of myself,” Naomi Osaka confident of giving a tough fight to potential next round opponent Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka (via IMAGO)

The four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has denied that she’s going into the potential second-round encounter with World No.1 Iga Swiatek without any expectations. The Japanese star overcame a tough first-round match after edging the unseeded Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.

Speaking in her post-match press conference, Osaka assessed her chances in the potential match against the defending Roland Garros champion, provided Swiatek wins her first round. The former World No. 1 embraced the idea of facing Swiatek.

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I definitely do feel like it's a test to see where I'm at, but I wouldn't say I have low expectations of myself. I'm a person that kind of thinks that I can win every match that I play. That's kind of gotten me this far. I would never play a match thinking lowly of myself, no.
Naomi Osaka expressed in her post-match press conference

Swiatek is set to play home favorite Leolia Jeanjean at Philippe-Chatrier Court in the morning session on Monday. The World No. 1 is expected to win her first-round encounter, being the defending champion.

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Osaka and Swiatek have played each other twice, with the head-to-head tied at 1-1. The Japanese icon won the first match in the 2019 Canadian Open, beating the Polish star 7-6, 6-4 in the Round of 16. In the second match, the Polish icon turned the tables on Osaka in the 2022 Miami Open final, winning 6-4, 6-0.

Naomi Osaka’s comeback in 2024 so far

The tennis world awaited former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka’s comeback in 2024. The Japanese star returned to the WTA tour after a hiatus in 2023 due to pregnancy.

Naomi Osaka Roland Garros
Naomi Osaka in Roland Garros (via IMAGO)

Osaka marked her return in Brisbane to prepare for the Australian Open. However, she lost to Karolína Pliskova in the Round of 32. She suffered a devastating first-round exit in Melbourne, losing to Caroline Garcia 6-4, 7-6.

Osaka notched a couple of wins in Qatar, including revenge against Garcia in the Round of 64. However, she couldn’t repeat her heroics against Pliskova in the quarter-final. Osaka kicked off her clay court campaign by losing to the Italian Martina Trevisan in Open De Rouen. Her best performance came at the Rome Masters, where she beat a top 10 player for the first time this year. The four-time Grand Slam champion defeated Russian Daria Kasatkina to accomplish this feat.

A titanic blockbuster with Iga Swiatek awaits the Japanese star in the second round of Roland Garros (if Swiatek wins her first round). However, going into the match with a ‘nothing to lose’ mentality won’t be a bad strategy.

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