“I would’ve LOVED to play Naomi,” says Ashleigh Barty after Osaka bows out of the Australian Open 2022
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Naomi Osaka and Ashleigh Barty
Ashleigh Barty was expected to face the defending champion Naomi Osaka in her fourth-round match. However, Osaka faced a defeat against the American Amanda Anisimova in her third-round match.
Barty will now be facing Anisimova in her fourth-round match at the Australian Open 2022 on Sunday. Osaka and Barty have been two of the most successful players in women’s singles tennis for the past few years, but the two players have met only thrice in their careers.
When Barty was asked about facing Osaka, she said, “I would’ve LOVED to play Naomi, I love to test myself against the very best”
Wait for Ashleigh Barty v Naomi Osaka continues…
The fans were waiting for the encounter between the former world No.1 Naomi Osaka versus the current world No.1 Ashleigh Barty in the fourth round of the Australian Open 2022.
The two players faced each other three years ago in the finals of the China Open, where Osaka came out on top of the Barty in a 3-set thriller. However, When the draws for the Australian Open came out everyone was expecting a fourth-round encounter between the two former grand slam champions.
Unluckily, the defending champion Osaka lost her third-round match against the American Amanda Anisimova in another 3-set match 6-4, 3-6, 6(5)-7(10). So, the wait for a Barty versus Osaka match continues.
However, Barty managed to win her match and progressed into the fourth round. During the post-match press conference, the world No.1 was asked about not being able to face Osaka for such a long time, to which she replied by saying, “I would’ve loved to face Naomi, I love to test myself against the very best. But in the position we’re in, I mean Amanda has played a fantastic tournament and she deserves to have a spot in the Round of 16 and I think the match that we’ll play will be exciting. It will be good for both of us to get out there and test us against each other”
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