“You have to understand what her situation is” says Kei Nishikori about Naomi Osaka’s media boycott at the French Open 2021
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Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori
Kei Nishikori has been long standing representative of Japan in the game of tennis. The Bronze medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics has been on the tour for 14 years and has won 12 titles which has him 15th on the all time earnings rankings in the Open Era.
Nishikori was the finalist at the 2014 US Open and has reached the quarter-finals at the the remaining 3 Grand Slams on 9 different occasions. The flag bearer of Japan now finds company in fellow national Naomi Osaka in representing their country on the international stage.
He recently gave his opinions on the media flak and criticism Naomi has been getting after the World No. 2 on the WTA Tour declared her decision to not attend any press conference during her run at the Grand Slam in Paris.
Naomi had released a statement about not attending any press conference this year at the Grand Slam, as she believes the media would often question her on the same thing repeatedly and put doubt in her mind which eventually affects her mental health.
This led to many opinions being given out, some supporting her while some criticised her. Weighing in his opinions on the matter, Kei Nishikori came out in support of Naomi. “It is not good, but you have to understand what her situation is. So there are pros and cons.”
“Just look at what Rafa Nadal said about the topic. I totally agree with him.” says Kei Nishikori
Kei Nishikori gave the support to Naomi but was not happy with how the things turned out. Being a professional player himself for more than a decade now, Kei understood the situation of the 23-year old Naomi and believed there are two sides to the story.
13-time French Open winner Rafael Nadal also commented on the topic, sympathising with Naomi but at the same time credited the media for making the athletes popular globally. “Just look at what Rafa Nadal said about the topic. I totally agree with him.” said Nishikori agreeing to the viewpoint of Nadal.
While this issue has created a lot of controversy, it has not affected the performance of Naomi so far. She comfortably won her first round game in straight-sets and advances into the 2nd round at the Grand Slam. She however maintained her stand of not attending the press conference and was fined $15,000 by the tournament with more sanctions threatened for the Japanese.
Nishikori had to however battle it out in his 1st game winning the match in 5-sets, while Nadal is yet to play his first round match at the tournament.
Also Read: WATCH: Defending Champions Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek hit against each other
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)