Naomi Osaka is hopeful that her stint with new coach Patrick Mouratoglou will develop right into a long-term partnership after she eased into the second spherical of the China Open on Wednesday.
The four-time Grand Slam champion cut up with coach Wim Fissette earlier this month and arrived in Beijing this week with Frenchman Mouratoglou, who’s finest recognized for being in Serena Williams’ nook for the final 10 years of her profession.
Osaka returned to the tour at the beginning of the season following the start of daughter Shai final yr however has been annoyed by her progress, along with her rating presently down at 73.
The Japanese star made a optimistic begin to the China Open in Beijing on Wednesday, beating Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-3 6-2.
Talking about Mouratoglou afterwards, Osaka advised the official WTA web site: “I believe the truth that he was Serena’s coach for me made me need to keep away from him simply because his persona is so huge.
“Like, this is not impolite as a result of I discovered it is not true, however I did not know if he was a very good coach or he coached Serena.
“Then I met him, talked to him, labored with him on the court docket. He completely is a very good coach. I am actually glad that he is taking this undertaking on, as properly.
“I think I’m at a stage in my life that I don’t want to have regrets. I’d rather pull the trigger on something and – I don’t want to say ‘fail’ – but I feel like I really need to learn as much as possible in this stage of my career. Patrick seemed like the guy with, I guess, the information that I wanted to learn from.”
Mouratoglou has additionally labored with Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Simona Halep and Holger Rune amongst others.
Chinese language wild card Zhang Shuai, in the meantime, beat American McCartney Kessler 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-1) for her first singles win since January 2023 – ending a run of 24 straight losses, whereas former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin defeated Ana Bogdan 7-5 6-2.
Draper prepares for singles by successful in doubles
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Martina Navratilova believes Jack Draper can proceed to go far within the Grand Slam occasions subsequent yr following his run to the US Open semi-finals
US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper takes on Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci within the battle of the left-handers on the Japan Open in Tokyo in a single day – from 3am stay on Sky Sports activities Tennis.
The winner of the match will face second seed Hubert Hurkacz in the second spherical after the Pole earned an essential win in his quest to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, the place he clawed previous American Marcos Giron 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4.
The British No 1 skilled a disappointing Davis Cup marketing campaign however he has already superior within the doubles occasion with Czech companion Tomas Machac, beating Alexander Erler and Matwe Middelkoop, 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 10-8.
What’s developing on Sky Sports activities Tennis in October?
- Shanghai Masters – ATP 1000 (October 2-13 – Jack Draper in motion)
- Wuhan Open – WTA 1000 (October 6-12 – Emma Raducanu in motion)
Sky Sports activities+ has formally launched and will probably be built-in into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports activities app, giving Sky Sports activities clients entry to over 50 per cent extra stay sport this yr at no further value. Discover out extra right here.
