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BNP PARIBAS WTA FINALS SINGAPORE

October 22, 2018

Naomi Osaka

Kallang, Singapore

S. STEPHENS/N. Osaka

7-5, 4-6, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What do you think made the difference out there tonight, maybe especially in the third set?
NAOMI OSAKA: I just think consistency. I think I made more unforced errors than her in the third set. I don't really think you can do that against her, so definitely I think that's what made the difference.

Q. Both yours and Sloane's first match on that court, and she said it was a bit tricky. What did you make of the conditions and the surface out there?
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, it was kind of hard for me. My timing was really off. I think I was, like, super far behind the baseline, which is a little bit not my play style.

So definitely I really have to, like, practice well tomorrow and try to find the feeling of the ball.

Q. One of the things that Sloane mentioned was it was quite humid in there once you got everybody in there. Was that your take, as well?
NAOMI OSAKA: I mean, I started sweating from the first game, but I like sweating, so, like, I was okay with it.

Q. The round-robin format, you're not done, which is not usually the case after a loss. How do you recover from this and how will you move on into the next one?
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, I took my five minutes of being really sad (smiling), and then from then, I don't know. I just tried to think that you learn more when you lose, so what can I learn from this match and try to apply it to the next match?

I think this is really interesting, because all the players that you play here are the best in the world, and you expect to have a really hard battle every match. So I think, in a way, that you can only get better every match you play.

Q. Did you get a chance to see Sascha? Did he saying anything to you after the match?
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, we had like a little conversation where he was talking and I was listening. So, yeah, I did see him after the match.

Q. What did you make of the crowd support out there? Seemed like a lot of people were out there for you.
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, it was really awesome. I wasn't really expecting it.

And, yeah, I'm just really grateful. Yeah, I don't know. Like, it was kind of surprising for me. I heard a lot of cheers. I just hope that they come back and watch my next match.

Q. Do you have any regrets about things that you might not have done, like maybe some challenges or things that you did do where maybe you might have been impatient on some of the points?
NAOMI OSAKA: Surprisingly not really. Like usually after I lose, I have, like, very specific things that I think would have changed the match. But I don't really have any regrets for me. This entire match was a really hard battle.

It's not even inside the match I have regrets for me. I wish I would have practiced more, like, to get my timing right before the match, but I don't think -- I think she played really well, and I think she deserved to win the match.

Q. Sascha was here yesterday, and he said he's not a huge proponent of the on-court coaching. I know you had him out today and you asked him out. What do you think you get from having him come out on the court?
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, I just call him to confirm the things that I already think about sort of, because for me, I think so much on the court. Usually I need -- like it's helpful when he comes on the court, because he sort of narrows down all of my thoughts. So that's mainly why I call him.

Q. You have either Angie or Kiki next. Just some thoughts on their game styles and how they differ from Sloane and what to expect from them.
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, I played Kerber, like, 100 million times (smiling), so, I mean, we both know how we're gonna play. I know she's, like, a Grand Slam champion. She's gonna play amazing, and I have to expect that the match is going to be very difficult.

I have practiced with Kiki before, and I know that she's a great player, as well. I think, like, at this level, like at this tournament, everyone plays really well and everyone wants to win. So I just have to expect, like, really hard matches all the time.

Q. On the subject of Angie, when she won Wimbledon, one of the things that Serena said was that Angie changed her way of playing and that she was mindful of that. Have you noticed any change in her style, especially over this year?
NAOMI OSAKA: I'm not like a Kerber expert. I know I have played her, like, five times, but I don't know, because for me I only played her -- I only, but I played her, like, three times in 2017. For me, it's weird because I played her only once this year and it was on grass. So I can't really compare, because I played her on hard court and then grass.

But I think when I played her in Wimbledon, she literally -- she probably only missed, like, three balls and she was hitting winners. So I thought she played really well. Yeah, I think it's really amazing that she won the tournament, because like if she were to play like that every match, then it's pretty obvious why.

Q. You know your life has changed so completely, I would presume, after the US Open, meeting so many people, in the headlines, doing interviews. Are you tired, by any chance? I'm just asking.
NAOMI OSAKA: When am I not tired (smiling)? I don't know, like, how to answer that. Like, am I tired of talking to you guys? No. But, like, yeah, I haven't gone home since the US Open. So of course I'd love to go home, but I'm here right now and I want to do well.

I don't know. Like, the fans that come out, I want to give them, like, a good match to watch. So for me that's my main priority, and I'm not really tired of that yet. So I just want to keep seeing how far I can go.

Q. Can I ask, were you more demonstrative on court today than you usually would be?
NAOMI OSAKA: You mean like talking to myself and stuff?

Q. Like dropping a racquet, getting upset, falling on your knees.
NAOMI OSAKA: That was something I'm not really proud of. I feel like for me I play better when no one knows what I'm thinking. But it's also something I am learning how to do, because it's not like I have been consistently able to do that. It shows like my ups and downs.

So definitely I am, like, a little bit apologetic for doing the stuff that I did, but, like, I think I learned a lot from today. So I don't know. I just hope I don't do that as much next match. But if I do, sorry.

Q. (Question in Japanese.)
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, of course it's a little bit unnerving. I don't know what word that is, but it's a little bit like frustrating when my first serve doesn't go in. I feel like my percentage was probably ridiculously low.

But I think even so, my second serve, she wasn't really attacking it, so, like, I just tried to deal with that. Yeah, I mean, having long rallies is something that you have to do with her. Either that or you go for a lot, which is something that I wasn't really trying to do at the time.

So, I mean, in the frustration sense, I wasn't really frustrated about my first serve. I was just a little bit, like, disappointed. Like my first serve disappointed me.

Q. (Question in Japanese.)
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I mean, I think it's really cool that you can keep going even after you lose. I think that this tournament is really special in that way, because there is no other tournament during the year that does, like, a round-robin format.

So I think that the fact that you get another chance to learn from your mistakes and apply it in the matches going on is something that's really good.

Q. (Question in Japanese.)
NAOMI OSAKA: I hope I understood your question right. The things that she does well, right?

Q. (In English.) Which points are hard to play against her.
NAOMI OSAKA: I would say that the fact that she runs for every ball. If you think you hit a winner, she'd still, like, run for it and it feels like you sort of have to restart the point from zero.

Yeah, just like the fact that she barely misses is something that I think is a really strong point of hers, and everyone knows that about her.

Q. (Question in Japanese.)
NAOMI OSAKA: No, I don't think I was nervous for me. I don't know. Like, being nervous is better than feeling what I felt today, which is sort of like I want to win really bad. And then I think when I have that type of feeling, then, like I outwardly express more than keeping everything inside, which is something that is better for me.

So I don't know. Like, I wasn't nervous, but I was very, like (speaking Japanese).

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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