Osaka hopes dedication to clay pays off at Roland Garros

PARIS: Naomi Osaka said she was encouraged by her progress on clay in the run up to the French Open, as the four-time Grand Slam winner eyes an elusive trophy on tennis’ slowest surface since returning from a 15-month maternity break.

Former world number one Osaka, who returned to action in January, has had huge success on hard courts thanks to her explosive baseline game, but the 26-year-old from Japan has usually struggled on clay.

Now ranked 134th in the world after her long break, Osaka has never reached a final on the surface and has yet to advance beyond the third round at Roland Garros.

However, she shrugged off early defeats in Rouen and Madrid before a run to the Italian Open fourth round, earning her first two career top-20 wins on clay in Rome by beating Marta Kostyuk and Daria Kasatkina.

“I think I’ve made a significant amount of progress and I feel like people can see that throughout the tournaments that I’ve played, but I feel like I’ve dedicated a lot of time to learning about clay,” Osaka told reporters.

“I want to do well and I want to keep beating really good players. Hopefully the last stop here I’ll play well too.”

Osaka, who returns to the French Open after a gap of two years, takes on Italian Lucia Bronzetti first up on Sunday. “I don’t think I’ve ever played her, not to my knowledge. So I’ve seen her around and I know that anyone that’s playing this tournament is a really tough opponent,” Osaka said.

“Plus it’s a first round of a Grand Slam. I’m usually quite nervous during those first-round matches. So I’m just going in there trying my best and seeing if all the lessons that I have learned so far have adapted me into a better player.”