Naomi Osaka’s win over Aryna Sabalenka must surely be viewed as one of the greatest of her career to date.
And that says a lot given all she has already accomplished within the sport.
The 28-year-old completely overpowered the Belarusian, renowned for her overwhelming game that often bullies her opponents.
However, she wasn’t even given a chance to threaten, completely smothered by Osaka from the off.
It has brought about an interesting debate which Martina Navratilova and Jim Courier have now weighed in on: can Naomi Osaka really win Wimbledon this year?
Martina Navratilova and Jim Courier make bold prediction about Naomi Osaka
Speaking to Tennis Channel, it was Courier who began by reviewing her performance.
He admitted he had been shocked by this run at Wimbledon, noting: “It wasn’t like we could necessarily see this coming. There was a fear that she wouldn’t even be able to play Wimbledon. She played in Bad Homburg, a warm-up tournament on grass the week prior to this; she makes the final, but she can only play one set, and then she retires ostensibly to protect herself, and that was a good idea.
Who can stop Naomi Osaka winning the Wimbledon title now?
“And now she’ll play the same player she was playing then, Muchova was who she was playing in that match in Germany.”
Navratilova, then asked if Osaka could actually win the entire event, replied: “Oh, absolutely. If she keeps playing like she did today, with that much freedom and that much joy.
“I think she feels the pressure is off, but maybe now she’s going to start feeling it because she’s just beaten the favourite to win the tournament. So now, does that make her her favourite? One of them. Certainly she can do it.”
This prompted Courier to add: “I mean Muchova, could be Coco, could be Bencic, could be… It’s not like the draw is easy, but when you beat Sabalenka as impressively as she did, she’s got to feel like she could beat anybody if she can hold that level.
“That’s the question. Can she hold that level for three more matches?”
Sabalenka admitted she was baffled by her loss to Osaka afterwards, citing the ‘strange’ occurrence which she simply couldn’t explain in her post-match press conference.
Naomi Osaka’s career revival on clay and grass
Before this year, Osaka had never really thrived on the natural surfaces. Both clay and grass had always proven to be her undoing, whilst she shone on hard courts.
This was perfectly exhibited through her four Grand Slam titles being split across the Australian and US Open, with two apiece.
Despite this glaring hole in her game, the Japanese star seemed content with this being the way things were.
Give us your one crazy prediction for the second week of Wimbledon!
However, since returning to the sport after taking a leave of absence to give birth, Osaka looks reborn on these surfaces.
This year in particular has been a standout, having now reached the second week of Roland Garros and Wimbledon for the first time in her career.
And, beating Sabalenka yesterday, many are starting to believe that she could really win this ongoing major as well.
