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Naomi Osaka crashed out of the 2021 Western & Southern Open on Friday, losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Jil Teichmann in the third round. Osaka led 2-0 in the deciding set but failed to drive home her advantage as the Swiss reeled off four games in a row before eventually clinching the win.
This was Teichmann's first win over a top-10 player on hardcourt and also her biggest win in terms of the rankings. The World No. 76 struck 21 winners to Osaka's 17 and committed 29 unforced errors to the Japanese's 41.
When asked if she was surprised by the Swiss' level in the second and third sets, Naomi Osaka answered in the negative. The Japanese said she considers Teichmann a very talented player, and pointed out the fact that players often raise their level when facing the four-time Slam champion.
"Honestly, it (Teichmann's level) didn't really surprise me as much," Naomi Osaka said. "I remember watching her play against Coco in Australia. I was thinking, like, this girl is really talented. It really doesn't surprise me at all. And also, people play me at a really high level, so I'm always kind of ready for that."
Naomi Osaka, however, stressed that her game still needs a lot of fine-tuning. The Japanese, for her part, believes the defeat could be a blessing in disguise, giving her more time to work on her game ahead of the US Open.
"I would say for me, even though she played really well, I know that there is a lot of things I need to fix within my game, so in a weird way I'm kind of glad that I lost, because there are so many things that I want to fix before New York," added the Japanese.
Osaka revealed she is happy with her campaign in Cincinnati. The Japanese indicated she is unlikely to play any other tune-up event before the US Open to avoid a risk of injury like the one she suffered last year.
"Yeah, I mean, that definitely was on the table (playing another event), but for me, I also feel quite accomplished with what I did this week," Osaka said. "I know I have only played two matches, but I think I have learned a lot from both of them."
"My main thing was last year, I played a lot of matches before the Open, and then I injured myself," she added. "So I don't really want to go through that again, even though it worked out last year. Yeah, I would say that option is on the table, but it's not, like, a high-percentage chance that I'm going to do that."
After making a strong start and claiming the opening set against Teichmann 6-3, Osaka's level dropped off significantly. According to the four-time Major champion, she became a "bit too defensive" as the match progressed, allowing the Swiss to get back into the contest.
Osaka also revealed that her performance at the Tokyo Olympics played on her mind during the match. Osaka believes she played very aggressively at the Games, where she lost in the third round, which is why she dialed down her approach against the Swiss.
"I thought in the first set I was doing everything I was supposed to do, and then in the second set I feel like, and also in the third set I felt like I was a bit too defensive maybe," Naomi Osaka said.
"But I also thought that my performance in Tokyo was also lingering in my mind a bit, because I felt like I was overly aggressive there," she added.
"I'm just glad that we were able to contribute something" - Naomi Osaka on Haiti relief program
Ahead of the Western & Southern Open, Naomi Osaka announced that she would donate all of her prize money from the event towards relief programs for Haiti, which recently experienced a devastating earthquake. The Western & Southern Financial Group followed suit and announced they would match Naomi Osaka's donation.
When asked for her thoughts on the Western & Southern Financial Group's step, Naomi Osaka said she was pleased by their efforts. But the Japanese also expressed her regret at not being able to go deeper in the tournament and contribute a larger sum of money to her father's homeland.
"Yeah, I was definitely really happy about that," Naomi Osaka said. "I'm kind of sad now that I couldn't have gone farther, but I think the main thing was to, like, raise awareness, and I feel like I did that pretty well. Overall, I'm just glad that we were able to contribute something."
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