Naomi Osaka won her first-round match at the U.S. Open Monday night against Marie Bouzkova in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, but you don’t really care about that. What you want to know is what happened in the press conference after her match; whether any journalist had the nerve to ask a tough question, and whether Osaka was psychologically prepared to answer it.
Well, that uncomfortable moment didn’t transpire. No sportswriter wished to be vilified as the next “media bully,” which is what happened to Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer two weeks ago. Daugherty asked a reasonable question of Osaka in a non-deferential manner, and all hell broke loose. You may have to wait a while before something like that occurs again.
The press conference on Monday was very late and very tame, indeed. A limited number of socially-distanced press members treated Osaka quite nicely. She did not show up for more than an hour after her match ended, and few American or Japanese writers even bothered to attend.
She talked about how she needs to stop being such a perfectionist, and about fighting her nerves inside Ashe Stadium. She focused on one particular sound from the crowd to calm her a bit.
“There was this little girl on the side, I heard her voice sometimes,” Osaka said. “I focused on that voice, I thought it was real cute.”
Osaka appears content to be at Flushing Meadows, even relaxed. There are no outward signs of her battle with anxiety and depression, though it is impossible to know for certain how she is feeling. She speaks wistfully about time spent at this tennis center as a child. Osaka says she loves New York, and it’s hard not to believe her.
“The biggest memory that comes back to me is being a little kid, running around the entire site,” the two-time Open champ said. “I don’t know if that may be the reason why I play so well here, but there’s definitely a lot of nostalgia.”
Osaka happens to be one of the best interviews in the game, when she can handle the situation. She’s forthright, intelligent, and unafraid to take on causes that intimidate other athletes. But she grows very sensitive when she loses.
The New York fans cheered her graciously. She is a sort-of local. Last year, there were no spectators in the stands at the Open. The place was a ghost town. “It was lonely for me,” she said.
When she won that title, she seemed well positioned to become a dominant successor to Serena Williams. Then came the media meltdown. As Osaka puts it, she is not “a robot superman.” She found herself spiraling into depression and confusion.
“I kind of had to get over the feeling of people’s gazes feeling a bit different to me,” she said.
Osaka played well enough on Monday, beating the 87th-ranked Bouzkova in now-familiar fashion. She won the biggest points with pinpoint groundstrokes and 115-mph serves. Osaka looks a lot like a young Serena Williams out there. She moves well horizontally, and avoids going forward at all cost. The net is her kryptonite. She does all her damage from the baseline.
Osaka held off three breakpoints in the third game and then broke Bouzkova’s serve with a sharp-angled backhand for the set. She won 81% of points on first serves and struck 34 winners, none of them at the net. A whip forehand down the line broke Bouzkova in the second game of the second set, and that was all she wrote.
Osaka plays Olga Danilovic next and looks ready to roll here at Flushing Meadows, ready to win more silverware and cash. Osaka has earned $20 million in career prize money and more than $55 million in endorsements during the last year alone. Those numbers seem to bother a lot of people. Where does the money go? Is that question even fair to ask? Nobody demands the same answers from CEOs and tax attorneys. She donates some winnings to charity. She gave some to resurface the Queens courts where she played until she moved away at age 8.
“I’m not really the type that spends money on myself,” Osaka said, years ago, after she earned a big paycheck at the Australian Open. “For me, as long as my family’s happy, I’m happy.”
Earlier on Monday, Coco Gauff, still just 19, came back from down a set and a break to beat Magda Linette in another first-round match. It is easy to imagine how Gauff and Osaka will produce a compelling rivalry over the next few years.
“They’ve played three times, 2-to-1 for Osaka,” said Pam Shriver, the ESPN commentator. “If they both stay healthy, stay in the game, and Gauff continues to progress, I could see them playing late in majors time and time again.”
That would be a great deal of fun. Gauff is a more dynamic mover on the court. Osaka is more powerful, yet more overwhelmed by her own fame.
For now, the press has backed off and given Osaka her space. It’s the least we can do.