Naomi Osaka has insisted the US Open audience is not to blame for the many controversial incidents that have occurred during the tournament so far. The Japanese tennis star admitted that while the crowd “enjoys a show,” they shouldn’t be blamed for the issues on the court.
There have been multiple incidents across the US Open so far, including smashing rackets from Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas getting into a verbal spat with his opponent for using an underarm serve. Following her third-round win over Daria Kasatkina, Osaka said: “Hey, don’t blame New York. I don’t know what the tea is with Tsitsipas, so I’m not going to say anything, but I don’t know, if you’re like, not calling everyone out name by name, Medvedev’s had a couple moments here that are kind of iconic.”
Osaka noted that being in the United States brings out the best in her, and it shouldn’t be an easy way out for tennis stars to blame the crowd for their misbehaviour. She added: “So yeah, I feel like the people here quite enjoy a show, but people everywhere enjoy a show, so, I don’t know if it’s just the part of the season where everyone’s tired and irritated but yeah, for me, New York brings out my best behavior so I don’t know what everyone else is doing.”
Medvedev has been the most talked-about issue of the tournament thus far, after he suffered a shock loss to Benjamin Bonzi in the first round. Throughout the match, the Russian lashed out at the chair umpire, smashed his racket after he lost and even urged the crowd to boo officials throughout.
Medvedev was handed a hefty £30,000 fine for his behaviour, but he’s not the only one in bother at the US Open this year. Jelena Ostapenko accused American star Taylor Townsend of lacking “class and education” after losing to the home hope in the second round.
Following this harsh comment, Osaka called the Latvian out for her wording, stating it was “one of the worst things you could say to a black tennis player.” Ostapenka later apologised, citing that she meant “tennis etiquette” rather than education when berating Townsend.
Elsewhere, Tsitsipas got into a bit of a verbal battle with Daniel Altmaier after he complained heavily about the German’s use of the underarm serve, after he was heard on court saying, “Next time, don’t wonder why I hit you, OK?”
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The Japanese ace’s tournament so far has been much calmer. The 27-year-old has shown her best form for some time and has stormed through to the round of 16. In the knockout stages of the Grand Slam, Osaka will face world No. 3 Coco Gauff on her home turf, with a place in the quarterfinals up for grabs.
AloJapan.com