New York (AFP) – Naomi Osaka felt inspired by her US Open run and said she couldn’t be “mad or upset” after losing to Amanda Anisimova in the semi-finals on Thursday. The four-time Grand Slam champion from Japan had not progressed to the second week of a major since winning the Australian Open for a second time in 2021. But she was a set away from reaching another final before Anisimova fought back to claim a 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 win in a match that finished shortly before 1:00am (0500 GMT) local time.
“Honestly I don’t feel sad. It’s really weird. I just feel like I did the best that I could,” said Osaka. “It’s kind of inspiring for me, because it makes me just want to train and try to get better, and hopefully, yeah, just give it my very best shot again and see what happens. But I think I can’t be mad or upset at myself.”
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Only three women — Australians Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong, and Belgium’s Kim Clijsters — have won Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era after having children. Osaka, 27, returned to the courts in early 2024 after giving birth to a daughter. She failed to get past the second round of any Grand Slam last year and lost in the first round of the French Open in May.
A run to the Montreal final last month gave her renewed belief she could return to the level that propelled her to world number one six years ago. “Getting far in the US Open was definitely a confidence booster,” said Osaka. “Doing well in Montreal was a confidence booster. I honestly got a little farther than I thought I would.”
“I have to understand what my level is, what I was able to achieve last year, and I think if I put everything into perspective, I feel like I did really good this year,” she continued. “Even before playing this tournament, I already exceeded my expectations. I was kind of just thinking about it, but my worst year is someone’s best year, in retrospect. So I just have to find ways to trick my mind into being positive.”
© 2024 AFP
