Former No. 1 Naomi Osaka enters the clay-court season with the goal of not being too hard on herself. ()
Osaka made the final in Miami last month and will be playing as a wild-card entry when the Madrid Open begins on Thursday.
바카라I'm trying to embrace my mistakes compared to the previous years as well, so I'm not that hard on myself,바카라 she said Wednesday.
바카라If I make a mistake or if I don't move up to the ball fast enough 바카라 because I find on clay you actually have to move much more 바카라 but if I do stuff like that I just tell myself not to be mad."
Osaka withdrew from the French Open last year and took a break from competition after saying she 바카라suffered long bouts of depression바카라 and experienced 바카라huge waves of anxiety바카라 before speaking to the media.
The four-time Grand Slam champion has openly talked about working on her mental health since winning the 2018 U.S. Open over Serena Williams. She left last year's U.S. Open in tears and was brought to tears again by a comment from a spectator at Indian Wells earlier this year.
바카라I'm still a student so I should try to keep learning,바카라 she said ahead of her debut in Madrid.
Osaka said she hoped to learn from some of the clay-court specialists who are playing in Madrid, including Rafael Nadal and the red-hot Carlos Alcaraz.
바카라Honestly. I've been wanting to watch the really good clay-court players practice because I feel like I'm the type of person that learns really fast if I see it up close, and honestly it's a bit of a waste to have all these really good professional tennis players and not watch them," the 24-year-old Japanese player said.
"I've kind of wanted to see Alcaraz, so it'd be cool to watch everyone practice.바카라
Osaka said she 바카라stole one of the things" that Nadal did and was practicing it, without elaborating.
바카라It'll either go really good or really bad. There's like no in between,바카라 she said.
바카라But I think as I've been doing it, it's been going pretty well.바카라
Osaka took two weeks off after playing in Miami and said she 바카라changed a couple of things바카라 in her game to prepare for the clay season.
바카라I think you guys will be able to tell when I play. I don't want to spoil the surprise,바카라 she said.
바카라I would say I did change a couple of things to suit myself more for clay.바카라
Osaka said she has set a goal of reaching the semifinals either in Madrid or in Rome.
바카라I'm trying to take it one tournament at a time," she said. 바카라Of course winning matches and leading up into the French, I want to get to the semis of either here or Rome, hopefully win. But I'm going to set a little goal first.바카라
Osaka's first match in Madrid will be against a qualifier. If she wins, her next opponent will be either French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, who beat Osaka on clay at the Billie Jean Cup in 2020.
