Naomi Osaka was overflowing with sass this week, heading into the Australian Open, after her early withdrawal from the warmup tournament Melbourne Summer Set 1. Osaka has said that her primary goal in 2022 is to have fun and never cry again in front of the press.
Losing her third round match Friday night to the promising 20-year-old, 60th-ranked American Amanda Anisimova, Osaka was disappointed but also looking on the bright side of things.
Osaka: “I’m Not God. I can’t win every match, you know.”
“I fought for every point; I can’t be sad about that,” Osaka said. “You know, like, I’m not God. I can’t win every match, you know. So I just have to take that into account and know that it would be nice to win the tournament, but that’s, like, really special.”
Having fun was also important to Anisimova, who said that by the third set against Osaka, she was no loner nervous.
“I love playing in these high-pressure moments, and I think it’s really fun to play in Melbourne in front of a crowd like that. So I was just trying to enjoy every moment really. I kept reminding myself, ‘I’m at a Grand Slam playing against Naomi Osaka, just try to enjoy it, because it’ll be over soon.’”
Naomi Osaka, the defending champion of the Australian Open lit up digital space earlier in the week, saying that she has proved herself enough and that she doesn't give a f--- anymore about those who have something negative to say about her.
Osaka responded directly to a fan who wrote on Instagram: "Enter every match in this tournament like you have something to prove.” It’s not clear that the remark was so snarky or disrespectful, but Osaka fired back:
"Respectfully I don't have anything to prove," Osaka said. "Before my first slam I was told I had potential but probably not gonna capitalize on it. After my first slam I was told I got lucky and I was a one-hit wonder.
After my second Slam I was told I could be great but I was unsure. After my third and fourth slams I was told I will only be good on hard courts. Moral of the story - people are always gonna have something to say and idgaf [I don't give a f***] anymore."
