Although Naomi Osaka tasted a title triumph (WTA 125K Saint-Malo, FR) before the clay-court major, she made an early exit from the French Open this year. Following her three-set defeat to Paula Badosa, the Japanese star said she “hates disappointing people.” However, her disappointments didn’t end there! Even in the grass-court swing, she failed to impress her fans. But despite witnessing multiple ups and downs in recent times, it seems Osaka has finally managed to steady her ship on the North American hard courts.
She was defeated in the R16 of the Citi Open by Emma Raducanu, but at the Canadian Open, she has now already defeated the likes of Jelena Ostapenko, Elina Svitolina and in-form Clara Tauson to book a spot in the final. This will be her second final of this season after the ASB Classic where she was forced to give a walkover to Tauson after playing just one set. Next up for her in the final is the 18-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko, who recently defeated the former world number 3, Elena Rybakina, in the SF by 1-6,7-5,7-6(4). With this victory, Mboko has now become the youngest Canadian woman in the Open Era to reach the final of the Canadian Open.
We’ve already seen plenty of support for this youngster in this tournament. As soon as she secured the match point, we saw Mboko dropping down to the court with the crowd chanting, “Allez Vicky”. She saved a match point in the third set and broke Rybakina twice to force the tiebreaker. Insane resilience from this youngster! This is really going to be a tough challenge for the four-time Grand Slam winner in her next match. Speaking about her upcoming task, Naomi Osaka made a special request to the Canadian Open crowd. After the match, during the post-match interview, she said, “I mean, she’s Canadian, I heard the applause from inside there, so I’m pretty sure it’s going to be super lively.”
Having said that, she also added, “But I really appreciate that because it means you guys are invested in the match, but I hope like one or two people cheer for me too, hopefully.”
Image Credits: Naomi Osaka/X Account
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