BEIJING — Naomi Osaka opened her China Open campaign with a hard-fought 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Maria Timofeeva in the second round in Beijing, recovering after dropping the second set to secure a place in the third round against Czechia's Sara Bejlek.
Returning to WTA Tour action after losing to eventual champion Elena Rybakina in New York, the former world No. 1 said her focus for the Asian Swing is climbing the rankings ahead of Australia. "I mean, for me, this is the Asian Swing. It's kind of like my home swing. Well, I kind of refer to everything as my home swing. You know, I love to be here. I won this tournament before. I'm ending in Tokyo. That I also consider my home," Osaka said during her post-match press conference. "I just want to, like, do well and hopefully have an opportunity to be higher-seeded going into Australia. I'm definitely going to try my best and just see what happens." Osaka sits 17th in the Live WTA Rankings after being seeded 13th at the US Open and trails world No. 8 Karolina Muchova by 2,327 points, a gap she could narrow by winning one of the two WTA 1000 events in China.
Osaka was pushed by the 22-year-old Timofeeva, who took the second set 6-3 after Osaka struggled on serve. Asked whether the swing was due to her level dipping or Timofeeva raising hers, Osaka said, "It's hard to say. I'm the type of player who always thinks it's about me. I should have served a lot better. I also think I gave her the opportunity to be aggressive. Probably if you ask her, it would be a different story. I really think it depends on how we're all internally feeling,"
The 28-year-old will need to improve to contend for the title in Beijing. After Bejlek in the third round, her projected path includes Karolina Muchova or Liudmila Samsonova in the last 16, and Sinja Kraus, Dayana Yastremska, Nikola Bartunkova or Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals. Reflecting on her mindset after previously speaking about mental health struggles, Osaka said, "I mean, I think it's all about mindset. I feel like I'm definitely happier now. It's because, like, tennis isn't my entire life. I've managed to build a life outside of that. My daughter's a huge part of it," and added, "I feel like it's also a part of growing up. I think I was very sheltered as a kid. I literally ate, slept, and breathed for tennis. Now it's just like growing up, being grateful to be able to play the sport, but understanding that nothing lasts forever. I'm just trying to do the best with the time that I have."
Osaka, 28, won her last Grand Slam at 23 and won more matches at majors this year than she had since 2019, but has not yet added a fifth Grand Slam title. Next year's Australian Open begins on January 11.