(Beijing) Japanese Naomi Osaka qualified for the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing on Wednesday, savoring “the change” brought by her new French coach Patrick Mouratoglou, former coach of Serena Williams.
The 26-year-old, lacking results, parted ways with her Belgian coach Wim Fissette earlier this month.
So she chose Mouratoglou, winner of ten Grand Slam titles with Serena Williams, to help her get back to her best level.
“I like the way he coaches, I think it’s going to be interesting,” she said after her victory against the Italian Lucia Bronzetti (73).e) 6-3, 6-2.
“Patrick seemed to be the person who had the information I needed,” added the former world No. 1, currently 73.ewho returned to the courts last January after maternity leave.
“I feel like I really need to learn as much as possible at this stage of my career,” said the four-time Grand Slam winner (2018 and 2020 US Open, 2019 and 2021 Australian Open).
Osaka, who won the Beijing tournament in 2019, admitted she was “always a little nervous” around Mouratoglou, particularly given her long and successful association with the legendary Williams.
“I look at my feet when he looks at me. I think I need to spend more time with him,” she admitted, adding that she feels “more and more comfortable as the days go by” with her new coach.
In the next round in Beijing, she will face the Kazakh Yulia Putintseva (32).e).
Wim Fissette coached Osaka twice, from 2019 to the summer of 2022, and again last year for Osaka’s return to the courts after the birth of her daughter Shai in July.
She lost in the second round of the US Open in August and her best performance since her comeback was her quarter-final at the WTA 1000 in Doha.