Australian Open: 'I'm not like LeBron James' – champion Osaka still feels unrecognised

By Sports Desk February 21, 2021

Naomi Osaka may be a two-time Australian Open champion but the relaxed four-time major winner still feels unrecognised when she walks the streets of Melbourne, insisting she is not like Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.

Osaka became the first woman since Monica Seles in the early 1990s to emerge victorious from the first four grand slam finals of her career after outclassing Jennifer Brady 6-4 6-3 in Saturday's Australian Open final.

Former world number one Osaka – who fended off a pair of match points against Garbine Muguruza in the last 16 at Melbourne Park – also became the seventh woman to have won the Australian Open after saving match point, following in the footsteps of Seles (1991), Jennifer Capriati (2002), Serena Williams (2003 and 2005), Li Na (2014), Angelique Kerber (2016) and Caroline Wozniacki (2018).

The 23-year-old won in 77 minutes to become the 12th woman in the Open Era to clinch multiple Australian Open titles. 

Osaka has now gone 21 matches without defeat – she is only the third woman since 2010 to enjoy an unbeaten streak of 20 or more matches, joining Serena (27 wins between 2014 WTA Finals and 2015 Madrid) and Azarenka (26 wins between 2012 Sydney and Miami).

Reflecting on her triumph during Sunday's celebratory photoshoot, the Japanese star told reporters: "I think the quarantine affected me in the way that I had to go within myself a lot.

"Your sort of in a room by yourself and your forced to face your own thoughts. For me, I think in the end that was a good thing because there were a lot of things that I meditated on and I thought about and I think coming here really helped me because it made me a bit more confident in my thoughts and my opinions.

"I don't really feel recognised unless it's moments like this. For me, I just like walking by myself outside. I think in a way that I'm kind of lucky because I'm not like a LeBron James or anything like that, that would get recognised everywhere. I'm pretty chill, like it's kind of good."

Osaka is yet to taste success at Wimbledon and the French Open, and she added: "For me, I think that's the biggest goal right now [win Wimbledon or French Open]. I think everyone knows that I can do well on hardcourt, but for me, I just want to get comfortable on the other surfaces."

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    Alcaraz looked out of sorts as he fell to a 1-6 5-7 defeat to Ruud in just 86 minutes in Turin, and now faces an uphill struggle if he is to progress from the John Newcombe Group.

    During the contest, the Spaniard hit 26 unforced errors compared to his opponents' 10, while also failing to save any of the four break points he faced. 

    It also marked Alcaraz's first loss against Ruud in their fifth match against each other, with the 21-year-old confirming he had felt unwell leading up to the tournament. 

    “I don’t like talking about things like this because it sounds like an excuse and I don’t want to take anything away from what Casper did to win the match,” began Alcaraz.

    “Before coming here, I was unwell at home. When I got to Turin, practice was going well; I could handle long rallies, competing and playing.

    "And I hoped things would get better as the days went by.

    "I don’t know if it was because of the nerves of the first match, but I didn’t feel completely well. My stomach limited my game a lot and made me feel uncomfortable.

    "I could’ve done better. I’m not going to feel good in every match I play throughout the year, but it really limited me in terms of my recovery.”

    Alcaraz will be back on court on Wednesday, when he takes on the loser of Monday's clash between Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev.

    Failing to win would see the four-time grand slam champion fall short once again at the year-end tournament, but he was confident of claiming a maiden ATP Finals crown. 

    “I don’t want to think much beyond today... Given how I’ve felt, it’s difficult to think about the semis,” said Alcaraz.

    “The good thing in this sport is that your game can feel very bad one day and very good the next.

    "There have been many players who have lost the first match of the [Nitto] ATP Finals and ended up winning. I reached the semis last year after losing on the first day.

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    Ruud, who had registered just two wins since the US Open, sealed a 6-1 7-5 win in just 86 minutes against Alcaraz for his maiden Top 3 triumph on hard courts. 

    The Norwegian reeled off five consecutive games from 1-1 to claim the first set at a canter but had to battle from the brink to secure a straight-set victory in Turin. 

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    "I feel really happy, of course. I think we have seen Carlos play better tennis, but I took care of my chances. 

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    Although Alcaraz appeared below his physical best during Monday's encounter, Ruud took full advantage to continue his impressive streak against the very best in the world. 

    The Norwegian's latest win saw his record against players in the Top 10 of the ATP rankings improve to 5-2, and he was a worthy winner in Turin. 

    Ruud converted all four of the break points he was presented with, ending the contest with 10 unforced errors compared to Alcaraz's 26. 

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    Sinner's victory over ninth-ranked De Minaur is his 13th against a top-10 player in ATP events this calendar year, having also done so in 2023.

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