Naomi Osaka explains the late change she had to make with Patrick Mouratoglou before her second round win at the Italian Open

Naomi Osaka overcame Viktorija Golubic at the Italian Open but it was far from straightforward.

The Japanese star dug deep to ensure her campaign at the last WTA 1000 event before the French Open stayed alive.

The former World number one defeated Golubic to reach the fourth round in Rome for the first time since 2019.

But it was anything but routine, as the 27-year-old needed to come behind to seal her second career victory over the Swiss player.

Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty ImagesNaomi Osaka says how she had to prepare to face Viktorija Golubic at the Italian Open

Naomi Osaka defeated home favourite Sara Errani in round one at the Italian Open, to set up a match with Paula Badosa.

But Badosa, 27, was forced to make a late withdrawal from the tournament due to a longstanding back injury.

She was replaced by Viktorija Golubic, and Osaka revealed after the match that she had less than half an hour to prepare for a new opponent.

Furthermore, she had very little time to discuss a new gameplan with coach Patrick Mouratoglou. But despite her slow start, Osaka found a way to win.

“I found out 25 minutes before, so it was a little bit of a scramble because I talked to Patrick and we had a whole conversation about playing Badosa,” Osaka told Sky Sports.

“So then we had to talk again for about three minutes maximum, so it was a bit of a close situation. In the first set I had to figure out my opponent, and then in the second set too.”

Photo by PIERO CRUCIATTI/AFP via Getty ImagesNaomi Osaka stretches clay court win streak to seven matches

Despite the less than ideal preparation, Osaka has now won her seventh successive match on clay.

She won the first five matches of that streak at the L’Open 35 de Saint-Malo Challenger event, and the four-time Grand Slam champion wants to continue building her streak here in Rome.

Her next opponent will be either the Italian Open’s 18th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia or Czechia’s Marie Bouzkova.

Osaka won her only previous meeting against Haddad Maia and both of contests against Bouzkova, and therefore will fancy her chances against either opponent in the next round.