Joyful Naomi Osaka reaches first Miami Open final; Hurkacz ousts top seed Medvedev
Naomi Osaka sat down, buried her face into an orange towel and let the tears spill out late Thursday afternoon as adoring Miami Open fans showered her with love.
It was the second time in three weeks she left a court in tears, but this time, they were tears of joy.
The former world No. 1, who entered the Miami Open unseeded and ranked No. 77, had just earned a spot in the tournament final for the first time in her career with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 semifinal victory over Belinda Bencic, a player she had never beaten in three previous tries.
On Saturday, she will play in a championship match for the first time since the 2021 Australian Open and will face No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland, who moves up to No. 1 next week after the retirement of Ash Barty.
Osaka moved up to No. 36 with Thursday’s victory, and if she wins the title, she returns to the top 30 after a difficult 10 months battling mental health issues.
“Damn, I’m almost crying,” Osaka said, trying to compose herself during her on-court interview.
“Just wanted to say thank you, everyone, the atmosphere was really good,” Osaka said, as the “We love you!” cheers continued. “This tournament really means a lot to me, it’s my first time in the finals here, and I’m real thankful. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a final. I really love you from the bottom of my heart.”
Osaka, who spent much of her childhood in Pembroke Pines and Fort Lauderdale, has said since this Miami Open began that a home tournament was just what she needed after leaving Indian Wells, California, “frazzled” on March 12 after being heckled by a fan during a loss during the BNP Paribas Open.
She withdrew from last year’s French Open to address her mental state and four months later left the U.S. Open in tears and took some time off.
The four-time Grand Slam champion sought the help of a therapist after the Indian Wells incident and said it has helped her cope with pressure and adjust her attitude on the court.
“Talking to her really helped me out, she helped me see things from a different perspective,” Osaka said. “I just feel like there are things that can help me out, and I never realized it because I’m the type of person that likes to do things myself and I don’t like to burden people. I’m surprised by how quickly it came together, but I always wanted to do well in Miami. I’ve always thought I had the game style for it.”
Osaka has seemed at ease from the moment she arrived at the Hard Rock Stadium grounds last week, smiling, joking, and opening up to reporters, just like she did when she reached the top of the sport three years ago.
On Thursday, when asked what she was thinking after such a meaningful win, she smiled and said: “What I’m honestly thinking now is how to get Korean food Uber Eats to my place because it’s outside the delivery range.”
She went on to share her South Florida dining options, what she’s been doing in her free time and what she listens to on her ever-present headphones.
“I’ve been eating a lot of Haitian food because I feel like you can only eat Haitian food in South Florida and New York, but I’ve really been wanting to eat LA Galbi, the marinated Korean beef ribs,” she said. “I like to go out, but I still feel kind of scared to get close to people because of COVID. My worst nightmare would be to get to the final and have to pull out because I’m sick.”
She confided that she often wears headphones to avoid interaction with strangers — “It’s a barrier thing I do” — and said music makes her comfortable. She has a playlist called “Sad” that includes slow songs by emo-rapper Juice Wrld. Her coach recommended she add “Virtual Insanity” by Jamiroquai.
On the court, Osaka has been playing with a renewed freedom. “I’ve been battling my inner thoughts and trying not to overwhelm myself with my thoughts. I feel like if I was negative for a split second, I would have lost the match, so I have to keep pumping myself up.”
She admitted she was nervous the entire match but found ways to calm herself down. After dropping the first set, she closed her eyes and gave herself a pep talk. “I had been in this position with her before, but all those times I panicked, so I was telling myself, ‘This is a real good chance to show yourself how much you’ve matured. Try not to repeat the mistakes you made before. There are people out there cheering for you who didn’t have to buy tickets to watch your match, but they are here, so try your best.’ ’’
On the men’s side, defending champion Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, the No. 8 seed, eliminated top-seeded Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Hurcacz also won his doubles match with partner John Isner over Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.
“Maybe the heat, but I was feeling super dizzy, tired and in the locker room suddenly every muscle just went ‘cramp, cramp, cramp, cramp,’ ” said Medvedev, who took electrolyte pills during and after the match.
With a win Medvedev would have overtaken Novak Djokovic on Monday and returned to No. 1 in the rankings, but he stays at No. 2.
“I spend a lot of time here in Florida, so I’m used to these conditions,” Hurkacz said. “That definitely helped. I love the atmosphere here.”
Hurkacz will play No. 14 Carlos Alcaraz, the 18-year-old Spanish phenom, who outlasted unseeded Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) in the late quarterfinal Thursday.
Alcaraz won the final four points of the third-set tiebreaker and won the match after chasing down a dropshot and hitting a backhand winner to the delight of the electric Stadium Court crowd. Alcaraz relied on his drop shot at several clutch moments in the match and said he has confidence in the high-risk play.
“The energy the crowd pushed me and thanks to them I was able to win the match,” Alcaraz said. “The rest of the match I’m trying to hit the ball hard to push the opponent behind the baseline, and the dropshot is good for and in the tough moments you have to hit the best shots you have and it’s a good weapon for me.”
KYRGIOS FINED
Nick Kyrgios was fined $35,000 by the ATP for his outbursts during Tuesday’s fourth round loss to Jannik Sinner. The breakdown: $5,000 for audible obscenity, $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct, another $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and $20,000 for verbal abuse.
BENCIC PREFERS KEY BISCAYNE
Asked what she thought about Hard Rock Stadium being the site of a football stadium, tennis tournament and Formula One race, Bencic replied: “I definitely appreciate all the initiative and work. If I’m completely honest, I definitely liked it more in Key Biscayne. I felt like that was more of a tennis tournament. Sometimes when you practice [in the current venue] it feels like you’re stranded in the parking lot a little bit. It’s very nice, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I prefer the tennis tournaments.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 9:06 PM.