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THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 5, 2018

Naomi Osaka

Wimbledon, London, England

N. OSAKA/K. Boulter

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How well do you think you played today?
NAOMI OSAKA: Well, I mean, I think I played well because I was able to win. I mean, I had to fight really hard for this match. I think she played really well. I mean, as a whole, I'm pleased with how I played, but also I want to improve a lot of things.

Q. How comfortable are you feeling on the grass? Does it take a bit of time to get used to?
NAOMI OSAKA: No, I mean, I think I'm pretty comfortable with grass now. I started playing on grass in Nottingham, so it's been a while. I feel like I can move pretty well.

Q. Could you give me a short insight about your next opponent, Angelique Kerber. What does she do good, what does she do not so good?
NAOMI OSAKA: I think she does a lot of things good. She runs really well. She returns really well. I can't really say there's anything she does bad.

I feel like she was No. 1 in the world and won two Grand Slams, so for sure she's going to be a very hard opponent to play against.

Q. Sascha has been here so many years with Serena. What specifically on grass is he teaching you that you didn't know before?
NAOMI OSAKA: I'm not saying it's stuff that I didn't know before, but I think he's just reinforcing things that I may, like, choose to forget. He's more, like, nitpicky with things.

Yeah, like going in and stuff are things that I've never really thought about doing, but he's been telling me that I should try, so...

Q. Going to the net more?
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah.

Q. What do you take most from the match when you beat Kerber? What was the key to beating her for you then?
NAOMI OSAKA: Well, for me, since she's such a great mover, I think just staying really calm and accepting if she makes a really good winner or if I make a mistake. Because playing against her, you have to expect long rallies because she doesn't really miss.

I think just staying calm was the main point for me.

Q. How much do you remember about that match? What did it mean to you?
NAOMI OSAKA: Uhm, well, I mean, the tennis part, I don't really remember that much. I remember we were hitting a lot of cross-courts. But, I mean, like, for that being the first match, I think on Arthur Ashe, that I won, I think that was pretty memorable.

Q. Yesterday you said that it motivates you to play against the crowd favorite. Did you feel like you were nervous today when you were playing against the crowd favorite? Did it affect your play?
NAOMI OSAKA: Well, I mean, I was nervous today, but I don't think it was because she was a crowd favorite. For me it was more, like, I beat her recently, so I felt like I needed to back that win up again. I got a little bit tight in the beginning and towards the end.

I'm just glad that I was able to pull it out.

Q. What do you think she needs to do to get to the world's top 100?
NAOMI OSAKA: You're asking me (smiling)?

I mean, I think she's really good. Like, there's nothing I can say that's wrong. She has a good serve. She hit a couple of return winners from my serve, which I think is pretty hard to do. She's pretty solid from the back.

I just think that when we're rallying sometimes, I hit, like, a higher-paced ball, that is a little bit difficult for her.

Seeing how she won the match yesterday against someone that's a known returner, I think she's going to do fine, so...

Q. You're through to the third round for a fifth consecutive major. Are you showing signs of consistency now?
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, I feel like I've been in the third round a lot. I feel like that's a good thing, but also I don't want to just stop in the third round every time. I want to keep going. I've only, like, went past the third round once. I would like to, like, go higher and higher.

Q. Have you been following the World Cup at all? If you have, do you have a favorite among the remaining contenders?
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, so, Japan lost. That was sad. Then it was Colombia and England yesterday, right? So we were at the transport desk. Everyone was, like, yelling at the TV again because I think it was like a penalty kick, but I wasn't really watching it. I'm sorry, but Japan lost, so I'm not really invested any more.

Honestly, I don't know who's remaining. Like there's Brazil. Who beat us? Who beat Japan?

Q. Belgium.
NAOMI OSAKA: Belgium, okay. Maybe I'll care about -- not that I don't care about Belgium, but maybe I'll root for Belgium now.

Q. What do you take most from having watched Serena Williams play over the years that you can channel into the way you go about your performances?
NAOMI OSAKA: Do I do that?

Q. I'm wondering.
NAOMI OSAKA: If I do, then I think that's a good thing. Sometimes I do think about it because when I'm down on my serve, I just think if Serena was playing now, she could probably hit a few aces and get herself out of trouble. I try to do that. I think sometimes I do.

Yeah, I think I do channel her sometimes. I mean, I would love to channel her more if I could. That's not really the biggest thing in my mind.

Q. Is there anything about her determination or her competitive will that you've noticed that you try to emulate?
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, ever since I was young, I really loved, like, the way she could come back from a really tough situation. I always try to do the same thing, like never give up. It doesn't matter what the score is. That's definitely something I try to do, too.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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