World No. 3 Naomi Osaka yesterday said that she is better equipped to deal with the WTA Finals’ demanding round-robin format after her maiden appearance at the season-ending showpiece ended in tears.
There was a lot of attention on the Japanese sensation entering last year’s WTA Finals on the back of a US Open victory over Serena Williams, but Osaka failed to live up to the hype in a winless campaign that ended in tears when she was forced to retire against Kiki Bertens due to a hamstring injury.
Having learned the lessons from that bitter experience, Osaka said she knew what to expect in the US$14 million tournament starting today that pits the eight best-ranked players of the year in a round-robin format.
Photo: Reuters
The WTA Finals has moved to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen for the next 10 years after a five-year run in Singapore.
“I definitely think last year helped me in the way that I kind of know the format more,” Osaka told reporters. “Before last year, I hadn’t played round-robin since I was, like, eight or 10.”
“I think the end of last year was just so hectic for me. Honestly, by the time I got to the [WTA Finals], I was just so tired,” Osaka said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
She will be one of the favorites in Shenzhen, having claimed successive titles in Osaka and Beijing. It has been a return to form for the 22-year-old after a stunning first-round exit at Wimbledon followed by a lackluster US Open title defense ended with a round-of-16 defeat to Belinda Bencic, who she will face in Shenzhen.
Osaka said renewed concentration was the catalyst for her late season revival. “Those matches that I’ve played [in Beijing and Osaka], I just tried 100 percent,” she said. “I tried to be as focused as I could every point, which for me is something very difficult to do because my mind tends to wander a lot.”
SWISS INDOORS
AP, BASEL, Switzerland
With Roger Federer getting an unexpected day off on Friday, his next opponent, Stefanos Tsitsipas, had to work hard to advance to the semi-finals at the Swiss Indoors.
Third-seeded Tsitsipas rallied to beat Filip Krajinovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals, winning when the 46th-ranked Serbian sent a service return long.
Federer received a walkover after Stanislas Wawrinka withdrew with a back injury.
Top-seeded Federer is seeking a 10th career title at Basel.
The other semi-final was between Reilly Opelka and Alex de Minaur, with De Minaur up one set as of press time last night.
The Federer-Tsitsipas match was to begin after that.
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