Naomi Osaka has enjoyed a relatively strong clay-court season thus far, despite having only won three matches.
However, yesterday was perhaps her best of the campaign thus far, overcoming a spirited Eva Lys in three hard-fought sets.
Having taken the opening set with relative ease, it was expected that the four-time Grand Slam champion would cruise into the Italian Open third round.
Alas, things were not that straightforward, and it took over two hours and eight minutes for Naomi Osaka to finally overcome Lys.
Afterwards, she spoke about what was an enthralling match for the neutral, as well as her experiences attending the recent Met Gala.
Naomi Osaka speaks about seeing Serena and Venus Williams at the Met Gala
In what was a momentous night for tennis, it was once again the Williams sisters who stole the show.
And, Osaka was unsurprisingly ecstatic at the opportunity to cross paths with them once again, despite admitting that seeing both Serena and Venus Williams made her ‘sad’.
The Japanese tennis star admitted: “For me, it wasn’t weird to see them because obviously Venus was a co-chair. Serena is there every year.
“It was cool. I feel sad sometimes, like being on-site. Obviously, I grew up with them, so I’d love to see them more.”
Asked about what it was like to be inside after walking the red carpet, Osaka added: “I kind of joined all the wallflowers inside. There were a bunch of really cool artists. It was cool to talk to them.
“I think, like, everyone was just so nervous about the carpet, they just relaxed inside. For me, I just found it to be a really interesting people-watching event.”
Naomi Osaka’s historical performance at the Italian Open
It’s good to see Osaka come out the other end of a fierce battle in Rome, considering that historically she has not performed all that well at this event.
In all honesty, clay in general has not really suited the 28-year-old, despite having been a part of some monumental close clashes with stars like Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek in recent years.
What could stop Naomi Osaka from winning a Grand Slam title in 2026?
Credit: Sofascore
Sabalenka spoke glowingly about Osaka after their recent Madrid Open match.
The Italian Open stands as a disappointing reminder of Osaka’s struggles on the dirt, having only ever reached the quarter-finals once across her six previous appearances at the event.
But, with two fourth-round exits in 2024 and 2025, there’s cause for optimism within her camp, having made progress on the early exits she suffered in 2017, 2017 and 2021.
