Naomi Osaka is about to go head-to-head with Serena Williams at the finals of the 2018 U.S. Open! Find out all about this incredible athlete here!
Naomi Osaka is set to play against arguably the greatest tennis player of all-time Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open final match. Here’s everything you should know about her.
1. She is beyond eager to play Serena Williams today. After being asked how she managed to fend off 13 break points against Madison Keys during the semi-finals, Naomi responded, “I just really want to play Serena.”
2. She is a huge fan of Serena. When asked if she had any message to relay to her upcoming opponent, she giggled, “I love you.” “Even when I was a little kid, I always dreamed that I would play Serena in a final of a Grand Slam,” she said, according to the Independent. “Just the fact that it’s happening, I’m very happy about it. At the same time I feel like even though I should enjoy this moment, I should still think of it as another match. I shouldn’t really think of her as my idol. I should just try to play her as an opponent.”
3. She previously defeated Serena. At the Miami Open, Naomi swept Serena in straight sets, after Serena had given birth to her daughter Alexis just under seven months prior.
4. She has previously lived in New York. Although born in Osaka, Japan, she moved to Long Island when she was three. She’s even played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds before. She told the US Open, “I used to play here when I was a little kid, so these courts aren’t new to me. I always thought if I were to win a Grand Slam, the first one I’d want to win is the US Open, because I have grown up here and then my grandparents can come and watch. I think it would be really cool.”
5. This is the 20-year-old’s first Grand Slam appearance. This is only her third appearance at Flushing Meadows, according to Reuters.
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