Naomi Osaka addressed the question most fans wanted to know the answer to following her first-round match at the Italian Open.
The four-time Grand Slam champion claimed her first victory in Rome since 2019 following a 7-6(2), 6-1 victory over Frenchwoman Clara Burel.
This is also Osaka’s first win against a top 50 player on clay since beating Victoria Azarenka at Roland Garros in 2019.
This is only the second victory of the season on clay for the 26-year-old, who is continuing to find her best form after spending 16 months away from the tour.
Why did Naomi Osaka have a notebook with her during her Italian Open match?
During one of the changeovers the Japanese star was captured reading a notebook. This is not the first time the player has been seen with the item.
She was pictured writing in it during the Miami Open in March, and the first time she was spotted with the journal was in her first round loss to Caroline Garcia at the Australian Open.
While she spoke to Tennis Channel after defeating Burel in Rome, Osaka explained the significance of having the notebook by her side during matches.
“For me just affirmations, I think there’s a lot of power in believing something and also writing it down and seeing it,” she said. “I hope you guys didn’t zoom in on it.
“I’m just trying as best as I can and any little thing that will help me get further, I’ll try my best to master it.”
What is Naomi Osaka’s clay-court record and who will she play next?
Throughout her career Osaka has struggled on the slower and more physically demanding surface of clay.
She has played just 46 matches on the dirt and won half of them, and the player has yet to win a title on the surface.
But the four-time Grand Slam champion has remained in the hunt for the Rome title and will face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in round two.
Though she exited at the first hurdle in Madrid, the 21-year-old made the Stuttgart Open final in April, where she was beaten by Elena Rybakina. Thursday’s match will be the pair’s second meeting after their three-set battle at the 2020 US Open.
Osaka claimed a 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2 win in the third round at Flushing Meadows before going on to claim her second US Open crown.
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