‘Will my opinion help?’ – Naomi Osaka dodges tough Australian Open question

Following her first round victory at the Australian Open, Naomi Osaka was asked what she thought about the ongoing saga concerning Novak Djokovic. 

Djokovic was deported from Down Under on the eve of the Australian Open after his second visa appeal failed.

Both before and since, reporters have been absorbed by getting as many player opinions as they can on the matter, but Osaka was not so forthcoming.

“Is my opinion going to help anything?” Osaka said when asked about it in her first round post-match press conference.

“Yeah, I’ll kind of pass on that. Thanks though,” she added after the journalist pressed further.

Osaka infamously had a tough time with press conferences and interacting with the media in 2021, citing mental health struggles as the main factor there.

As such, the former world number one may be looking to avoid any unnecessary drama as she looks to get her Major-winning best form.

The Japanese star is a two-time winner and defending champion in Melbourne, having claimed the title in 2019 and 2021 to go along with her 2018 and 2020 US Open crowns.

She defeated Colombian youngster Camila Osorio in the first round 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round.

There Osaka will play American Madison Brengle for a spot in the third round, where she would then face either Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic or newly crowned Melbourne Summer Set 2 champion Amanda Anisimova.

While Osaka has never faced Anisimova, she has lost to Bencic in all three of their tour level meetings, the most recent of which came in the fourth round of the 2019 US Open.

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