Naomi Osaka is flying high at the Miami Open, with Hailey Baptiste her latest victim at the WTA 1000 tournament.
Roger Federer once labelled Osaka ‘exceptional’, with the latter having won four Grand Slam titles during her superb career so far.
Osaka has also reached number one in the WTA rankings, but currently occupies 61st place as she looks to get back to her very best.
A top 10 test now awaits Osaka at the Miami Open, with world number seven Jasmine Paolini her round of 16 opponent.
Paolini is the sixth seed at the competition, making the last 16 after Ons Jabeur retired hurt during their third round match.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty ImagesNaomi Osaka calls Hailey Baptiste a ‘really good player’ at the net at the Miami Open
Osaka meanwhile overcame American Baptiste at the same stage, and was asked about her emotions and what she said to her opponent at the net in her winning press conference.
“Yeah, today was an emotional day for me,” replied Osaka. “I was saying that I’m a little embarrassed for how much I threw my racket, which is something that I don’t like to be known for. So very sorry to Yonex about that. But I also feel like I was trying to be really positive and really vocal.
READ MORE: Miami Open 2025: Prize money, where to watch, predictions and all key information for Sunshine Double second part
“So I might have been a little annoying to her on that end, too. But I felt like I needed to do that to, I guess, push myself to continue.
“In that regard, this match was very difficult. And I did notice she was way quieter than me, but I feel like most of the time a lot of people are quieter than me, so…
“Yeah, at the net I was telling her how she’s a really good player, which she already knows that. Well, she should already know that.
“Also the last time I played her, she took a medical timeout, so I was just asking her if it was the same thing and if she was okay.”
Naomi Osaka ‘definitely’ at her best fitness level in a couple of years
Osaka has had injury issues of her own, while she has also needed to build up her overall fitness after giving birth in 2023.
The 27-year-old reached the very top of women’s tennis before then, and won four Grand Slam titles between 2018 and 2021.
READ MORE: Naomi Osaka says what she could do in her first round match at the Miami Open which she hasn’t been able to for a long time
Asked where she is fitness-wise 15 months after maternity leave compared to her top Grand Slam form, she said: “Honestly, I feel like I’m better than 2021.
“You know, COVID really set me back, I’m not going to lie. I was in the house doing nothing. But yeah, I think I’m definitely faster than 2021.
“I think I was a teenager in, like, 2018 so should I really compare myself? I don’t know. But yeah, fitness-wise definitely the best I’ve been in a couple of years, for sure.”
ResultYearTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreWin2018US OpenHardSerena Williams6–2, 6–4Win2019Australian OpenHardPetra Kvitova7–6(7–2), 5–7, 6–4Win2020US Open (2)HardVictoria Azarenka1–6, 6–3, 6–3Win2021Australian Open (2)HardJennifer Brady6–4, 6–3Naomi Osaka Grand Slam final recordWhat Naomi Osaka has now realised after reaching the Miami Open last 16
As she alluded to, Osaka was embarrassed by her racket throwing against Baptiste, but ultimately emerged victorious with a 7-6(8-6), 3-6, 6-4 success.
It represented a second match in a short period of time between the pair, with the former having beaten the latter in the ASB Classic quarter-finals in January.
Osaka came from behind to win that clash, but their latest meeting was a much more back-and-forth encounter.
READ MORE: The Miami Open has been told what is ‘bad’ about the tournament as big problem identified since change of venue
Discussing the extra fight from the two-hour, 59-minute battle that she may not have had a year ago, she said: “Yeah, I think last year, I don’t know, like, for me it’s really hard because last year I was coming back from, like, not even being in my greatest form. Does that make sense?
“Like when I stopped playing, my last tournament was Tokyo, and I was ranked 40. I also didn’t really have the fight in me anymore.
“It’s really hard for me to describe, but… I think a big basis of my game is fighting and just trying to stay as mentally strong as I can.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images
“Last year I had some good matches, but there were other matches where I felt like since I didn’t play perfect, it was really difficult to win, and I just couldn’t get over that hump.
“This year I’ve played already a couple scrappy matches. I think the fight kind of got me over it. Then I realised, like, you need to play a lot of matches like that to be I guess one of the great ones. So I’m hoping that I can continue.”
AloJapan.com