Naomi Osaka is hopeful that her stint with new coach Patrick Mouratoglou will develop into a long-term partnership after she eased into the second round of the China Open on Wednesday.
The four-time Grand Slam champion split with coach Wim Fissette earlier this month and arrived in Beijing this week with Frenchman Mouratoglou, who is best known for being in Serena Williams’ corner for the last 10 years of her career.
Osaka returned to the tour at the start of the season following the birth of daughter Shai last year but has been frustrated by her progress, with her ranking currently down at 73.
I try not to get into relationships with people for short-term. I try to think of it as a long-term commitment. I like the way he coaches. I think it’s going to be really interesting.
The Japanese star made a positive start to the China Open in Beijing on Wednesday, beating Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-3 6-2.
Speaking about Mouratoglou afterwards, Osaka told the official WTA website: “I think the fact that he was Serena’s coach for me made me want to avoid him just because his persona is so big.
“Like, this isn’t rude because I found out it’s not true, but I didn’t know if he was a good coach or he coached Serena.
“Then I met him, talked to him, worked with him on the court. He absolutely is a really good coach. I’m really glad that he’s taking this project on, as well.
“I think I’m at a stage in my life that I don’t want to have regrets. I’d rather pull the trigger on something and – I don’t want to say ‘fail’ – but I feel like I really need to learn as much as possible in this stage of my career. Patrick seemed like the guy with, I guess, the information that I wanted to learn from.”
Mouratoglou has also worked with Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Simona Halep and Holger Rune among others.
Chinese wild card Zhang Shuai, meanwhile, beat American McCartney Kessler 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-1) for her first singles win since January 2023 – ending a run of 24 straight losses, while former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin defeated Ana Bogdan 7-5 6-2.
Draper prepares for singles by winning in doubles
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Martina Navratilova believes Jack Draper can continue to go far in the Grand Slam events next year following his run to the US Open semi-finals
US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper takes on Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci in the battle of the left-handers at the Japan Open in Tokyo overnight – from 3am live on Sky Sports Tennis.
The winner of the match will face second seed Hubert Hurkacz in the second round after the Pole earned an important win in his quest to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, where he clawed past American Marcos Giron 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4.
The British No 1 experienced a disappointing Davis Cup campaign but he has already advanced in the doubles event with Czech partner Tomas Machac, beating Alexander Erler and Matwe Middelkoop, 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 10-8.
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis in October?
- Shanghai Masters – ATP 1000 (October 2-13 – Jack Draper in action)
- Wuhan Open – WTA 1000 (October 6-12 – Emma Raducanu in action)
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.