Naomi Osaka shares what she wrote in her notebook during the first set of her comeback win over Hailey Baptiste at the ASB Classic

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Naomi Osaka was once again seen writing in her notebook after reaching the ASB Classic semi-finals.

The four-time Grand Slam champion is into the last four of a WTA tournament for the first time since 2022 after defeating America’s Hailey Baptiste.

The 27-year-old fell behind after losing the first set, but took sets two and three in dominant fashion to keep her campaign in Auckland alive.

After a frustrating end to a tough 2024 season, Naomi Osaka is aiming to start off this new campaign strong and build momentum ahead of the Australian Open.

What did Naomi Osaka write in her notebook during her ASB Classic quarter-final?

Osaka hit just five winners in the first set against Hailey Baptiste, who started a season inside the top 100 for the first time in her career.

The former World number one began to turn the match in her favour by making 80% of her first-serve points and broke Baptiste’s serve three times to win set two.

The 23-year-old had a medical timeout after the second set and was unable to give her best in the decider as Osaka stormed to a 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-2 victory.

Post match the Japanese star, who is seen writing in her notebook at times during matches, spoke about what she documented at the end of the first set.

“It doesn’t really make sense to anyone but me but I was basically trying to tell myself no matter what happens to play the way that I want to play in Melbourne and keep trying to go for the shots that I know I will have to make there” Osaka said.

“I started the notebook thing last year and I actually write in it before matches with Patrick so I would say quite frequently.”

When was Naomi Osaka’s last WTA Tour semi-final?

Osaka has now reached her first semi-final on the WTA Tour since the Miami Open back in 2022.

She was unseeded in that tournament and reached the last four where she took on former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.

The Swiss player took the first set before Osaka produced a comeback 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory to reach the final.

She took Iga Swiatek who was in the middle of a scintillating run of form which saw her go 37 matches unbeaten. This is the longest win streak on the WTA Tour in the 21st century.

Swiatek claimed a 6-4, 6-0 to win the title for the first time and at the ASB Classic on Saturday Osaka will aim to reach her first final since Miami.