Naomi Osaka shared a conversation she had with coach Patrick Mouratoglou after reaching the third round of the Australian Open.
The 27-year-old was given a very difficult draw at Melbourne Park, but she has answered the challenges that have been placed in front of her so far.
Osaka’s first two opponents, Caroline Garcia and Karolina Muchova, both defeated her in Grand Slam play in 2024.
But Naomi Osaka has gained some revenge by knocking them both out of the 2025 Australian Open and her pursuit of a fifth major title continues.
What did Naomi Osaka say to Patrick Mouratoglou after reaching the Australian Open third round?
Osaka had to beat Muchova the hard way after she dropped the first set after winning just one game.
The Czech player doubled the amount of winners to her opponent and appeared as though she would cruise to a straight sets victory.
But Osaka began to raise her game at the end of set one and proceeded to start breaking down Muchova’s forehand side and upped her winner count. She went on to win 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 in just under two hours and reach the third round at the Australian Open.
She credited her performances at the ASB Classic, especially the comeback victory against Hailey Baptiste that helped her win these deciding sets at the Australian Open.
Revealing that she said this to coach Patrick Mouratoglou after her match, Osaka told reporters: “When we were cooling down, I was telling Patrick that I was very thankful we went to Auckland because I did play really tough three-setters there as well.
“I think if I had immediately come here to Melbourne and had to play Garcia and Muchova, and those were both three-set matches, just having the experience from the first tournament really helped me. So I wasn’t necessarily worried that my game would slip away, no.”
What does Naomi Osaka think of coach Patrick Mouratoglou?
In September 2024, it was announced that Osaka would be coached by Mouratoglou.
The Frenchman had great success coaching Serena Williams and had also coached the likes of Simona Halep and Holger Rune.
Now he has been tasked with trying to help Osaka rediscover her best tennis, and she has certainly made a fine start to 2025.
Now, four months into her partnership with Mouratoglou, Osaka has admitted what surprised her about the veteran tennis coach.
“In the very beginning I was a little wary of him just because his persona is very… I didn’t know if I would get along with him,” Osaka said. “Yeah, I said that out loud, whatever.
“But he’s actually really funny, very hilarious. I didn’t really expect that from him because I thought he was so straightlaced. He’s very funny.”
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