Alix Ramsay Reports From 2019 Aussie Open •Tennis Players Grow Up Fast • 10sBalls Looks At Osaka & Shapovalov

Naomi Osaka of Japan reacts against Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia during their round two women’s singles match on day four of the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 17 January 2019. EPA-EFE/LYNN BO BO

 

 

They grow up fast, these tennis players. Denis Shapovalov is only 19 and yet he talks like a veteran and Naomi Osaka is only 21 and already she is a grand slam champion and the world No.4. And they both feel old.

 

They eased into the third round of the Australian Open without dropping a set, Shapovalov brushing aside Taro Daniel 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 and Osaka dismissing Tamara Zidansek 6-2, 6-4. That was the easy bit. It was when a well-meaning scribe told Osaka that Zidansek, the wold No. 78 from Slovakia, felt utterly star-struck when she stepped on court against the US Open champion that our Naomi got all jittery.

 

“No way,” she said in amazement. “Wow, that’s kind of crazy. I don’t know. Hey, what did she say, though? It’s, like, weird. When you play someone, like for me, when I play, like, Venus or something, I’m star struck, too. It’s a bit weird when you tell me there’s someone I’m playing that feels that way. I feel old.”

 

In just 10 short months, Osaka has gone from being a promising young hope to being the woman everyone wants to beat. Winning the Indian Wells title last March announced her arrival in the ‘contenders’ category and her cool and disciplined handling of the US Open final and all the controversy that went with it proved her to be a champion and a half. Her rise has been swift and spectacular – and it all takes a bit of getting used to.

 

But Osaka, for all her daffiness in interviews (shock revelation of the week: Naomi is trying not to say “Ummmm” at the beginning of sentences), there is a shrewd, canny and courageous side to her. She knows her worth on a tennis court and she is not afraid to show it.

 

“I enjoy grand slams the most,” she said. “A lot of people ask me about, like, how I feel after the US Open. But for me, it feels like a fresh start. I’m just really excited every time I play a match.

 

“Everyone knows that I play better against the seeded players. But for me, I feel like I’ve been at this for a year now. Like after Indian Wells, I feel like people have wanted to beat me, and they have a reason to. I feel more accustomed to it, like sort of a veteran, but not really that extreme.”

 

That switch from being the hunter to being the hunted has derailed many a player in the past. Osaka, thought, is a bright woman and she has thought through her new situation. A lot of hard work in the off-season has given her belief in her physical abilities and the confidence she has gained from the past year has allowed her cope with the pressure. Her motto appears to be ‘bring it on’.

 

“For me, what makes me relaxed is the fact that I know that I’ve put in a lot of time during the off-season on my fitness,” she said. “I feel like I can sort of relax and let the other person do whatever they want, and I have confidence that I can run it down. I think that’s one of the biggest reasons why you think I’m relaxed.”

 

That relaxed, confident, chilled Naomi will be sorely tested in the next round when she takes on Hsieh Su-Wei, the slicing and dicing, make it up as you go along, two-handed on both flanks world No.27 from Chinese Taipei. No matter – the US Open champion has a plan for that, too.

 

“I feel like you already walk into the match knowing she’s going to be doing a lot of tricky stuff,” she said. “It’s not anything new. I think that’s the mentality I have to have.”

 

Shapovalov, too, has learned his trade quickly on the tour and has gained confidence by the bucketload. It was 18 months ago that he planted his flag on the world stage by beating Rafa Nadal at the Masters 1000 in Montreal. He was 17, he was a big-hitting young wannabe from Canada and, potentially, this was just a flash in the pan. Except that Shapovalov had bigger plans – he may only be 19 now and he may only be in his first ever third round in Melbourne but he knows that he has the potential to mix it with the big boys.

 

“I feel my game has reached that next level. I feel very solid as a player now,” he said. “I feel like I’ve secured my spot in kind of the ATP Tour, in the rankings. I feel like my level is really there now. It’s a super proud moment for me.

 

“I don’t want to stop here. I want to keep going, push the top guys, hopefully one day just be there with all these guys like Novak and Zverev. It’s a dream of mine. I’m just trying to work every day to hopefully one day achieve that.”

 

Like Osaka, Shapovalov has had to learn on the hoof. His rise has been rapid and now everyone wants to beat him. Not only that but everyone expects him to win and that is hard to take: when he wins, it is taken for granted; when he loses, he is slammed for being a failure. That led to a lot of soul-searching for the young man – only just old enough to vote and already he was asking himself whether this is really what he wanted to do with his life.

 

Fortunately for tennis, Shapovalov quickly came to the conclusion that despite the outside pressures, he was still passionate about the game. And fortunately for Canadian tennis, he wanted to do everything he could to give back to both his sport and his country.

 

“I want to be a star,” he said with alarming honesty. “I want to be one of the Rogers or Rafas so that young kids and players, they look up to me, hopefully pick up racquets. Especially in Canada. For me, everything is about the sport in Canada.

 

“I feel very lucky to have lived in Canada for such a long time, been raised there, that I just want to give everything I can back to it, and hopefully just inspire a lot of kids to pick up racquets and play.”

 

Blimey, that sounded awfully deep and mature but, then again, they grow up fast, these tennis players.