Osaka’s quietly playing her way back into form in NY

The 23rd seed has put in some vintage performances, mixed with some new tactics

- Shahid Judge

MUMBAI: For the camera, Naomi Osaka gave a full 360-degree view of her specially designed tennis shoes. And then the bejewelled blue Labubu doll she has dubbed “Arthur Flash.”

These were lighthearted conversations she doesn’t mind sharing on-court. What she does not like to divulge in much detail is tennis related. For instance, what her new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski is bringing to her game.

“I can’t give up my secrets,” she said at the Louis Armstrong Stadium, with a smile, after a 6-3, 6-1 win over Hailey Baptiste in their second round US Open match.

But in that 70-minute match on Thursday, Osaka gave glimpses of those changes, and just how effective it has been.

An aggressive baseliner, Osaka tends to play close to the baseline, taking away time from her opponents, even when receiving serve. But what has been seen so far at the US Open is the 27-year-old taking a few steps behind the baseline, giving her more scope for accuracy, and more time to load the big returns.