The huge and completed athletes can attract ordinary people outside the guard. How is a tennis player like Naomi OsakaFour times Grand Salam The hero and the previous world No. 1, will you reach a place where you may question her ability?
This happens all the time, even with the greats at all-a sub-group of tennis Patrick MuratogluThe coach has long spent Diprissio Tennis, most of his career in the study. He trained the best than the best, Serena WilliamsIn the place of many of its greatest victories.
In September 2024, three quarters of the road during her return season after the birth of her daughter, tea, Osaka rented Mouratogou to replace Wim Fissette. Osaka’s reunification with Fissette (which he trained between 2019 and 2022) in the previous summer, to prepare for her Return to competitive tennis last January. Initially, it was delicious about the relationship between improvement and results. When it came within the hit point Iga Swiaatek in the French Open last year, Osaka It was not a decline: “It is clear that the results are not produced now, but I think I am growing every tournament,” she said at its press conference.
When the results were not produced, Osaka found herself struggling again with her confidence and decided to stay away from the coach with whom two of the four -year -old championship titles won.
Osaka, 27, has not won a title of any kind with Mouratoglou yet, but she is close to this with a row. She had to retire with a abdominal injury when she was a group against Clara Tawason in the final of Auckland Classic in New Zealand in January and played her best tennis since she became a mother in the past five months, when her body allowed her to do so.
“I just had to believe in myself much more than that,” said Osaka in the Australian Open after her victory in the second round of Carolina Moscaa, one of the most talented players in the world, who won Osaka has eased at the same stage of the open United States Four months ago. There in Melbourne, Osaka was talking about returning to win the last two groups after she lost the first 6-1, but she was talking about how to discover her boast and ability to get the racket out of the hands of her opponents.
This is not an accident.
In an interview in February from Los Angeles, where he and Osaka prepared for her return from this abdominal injury, Muratoglu said they were working to face those moments when she feels that her faith is slipping and when discovering ways to overcome her.
Patrick Moratoglu with Naomi Osaka at the Australian Championship in January. (David Gray / AFP via Getty Images)
“You gain confidence in what you do every day in practice,” Mouratoglou said.
After two weeks of hard training, Osaka will try to bring this brag Indian wellsCalifornia, this week.
In the interview, Mouratoglou, 54, said that he does not expect anything less than Osaka, a player who says he comes to the field every day with an open mind and hunger to try to improve.
All the great do.
This conversation was edited for clarity and length.
deepen
Naomi Osaka and the attractiveness of a star in the United States open
How is her feeling of injury?
She no longer suffers from pain. We have served, but slowly and advanced. She performed the work to try to make sure that she is not hurting again.
How does work with players look at their level? How do you compare with Serena Williams?
I do not compare anyone with our walk. It is very exciting because of its potential. She has the ability to win a lot of four tournaments. Its motives are very high. Tennis is a great priority and is ready to return along the way.
How do you know if you are suitable for her?
I don’t know if this is appropriate – all players are different, and as a craft you need to adapt.
Is it different when you train a star instead of some of the players who worked with them who are not at this level?
It is very important when you work with a star to do the same as if the player is not a star. You need to speak to someone in a natural way, as is an ordinary player. When they achieve a lot, they have certainty about what they do, but they should be open enough to learn and continue to grow. This is where there is Naomi. She really wants to improve her. It really takes advice, provides 100 percent. It is not afraid. This is the mentality of the hero.
It is interesting to say that. I thought people who have won a lot in the past believed they know how to do it again.
They are heroes because they do what is necessary to improve it; Their ability to trust the person who works with them to tell them what they must do and what it takes. This makes them heroes.
Rafa (Nadal) and Noveak (Djokovic), have passed many technical changes. They see sports. Everyone is improving. This is how Serena saw the world. If you are satisfied with what you have and do not try new things, you will be overlooked by others. The progress comes from seeing the areas you can improve.
Why is Osaka better now than last year?
Her confidence is much higher. This comes from what you did in practice. It is very well practiced. She pushes herself. She gained her game in consistency. The player should be aware of what you feel, even if you feel that she is losing confidence. Before, she has not expressed her for herself. She lost most of the matches because she stopped faith and this is not allowed.
We are playing matches. She realizes what she feels. We talk about it. We are working on it at the present time. It is good to have this feeling, it is normal – there is no defect in stress. We just have to realize it. This can affect you, but it cannot affect you much-Novak becomes a bone or angry, but the most important thing is the ability to return very quickly. Otherwise, you lose points, points and points. You have the right to become nervous and loss of confidence, but not much and not for a long time.
You do not speak much during matches other than small encouragement messages. Why?
There is not much to say, unless you see that it does not follow the plan in one way or another. The match, and we promise it before. The only thing I can do is support it.
In the Muchova match in Melbourne, Muchova was playing wonderfully and Naomi was struggling to reach its level. I saw it last year. I discovered that when she was in trouble, her level of confidence will decrease a lot and the game was affected.
Her first championship in China, she lost 20 consecutive games when she lost the first group. This time, she did not let what was happening on the field playing her mind. It is impossible not to be affected by the result. They should be affected by the result. How it affects you and affects you in a way that can harm you is the question. You want to be affected, but stay under control. Keep believing in what you are doing.
Is this what you did against Mochova?
I remained mentally there. You don’t go away. Nobody plays perfectly from the first to the last.
When Serena trained, she ascended against Osaka. Have you shared your old game plans?
no. You do not want to enhance the weaker spots. I also don’t think you are winning by improving your mistakes a lot. You prepare solutions, and make your strong points better. If someone had a good game plan to overcome it Jeanic wrongI would like to see it. Players at this level, you must capture them on a specific day when there are weak points.
I want the players to know how to turn their strengths into weapons: “What is my player’s game style and how they win points?”
So what are the strengths of Osaka at this stage whose weapons should be?
When you are at the top of the game, you play faster than anyone else. It makes it very difficult to organize a point against it. The ball has returned to you at this short time. When it touches the racket, it goes very quickly to the other side of the network, and it can be very accurate while hitting its locations.
It also has a large space for improvement. She can return better, be more aggressive in the second service, and takes time to better. The good thing is that they are very open to new ideas. She told her what I thought when she arrived and told me that she was very excited to get to the work because she believed that she would learn new things.
Naomi Osaka holds the Australian open cup after the 2019 final. (Getty Images)
Is this what tells you the best that tells you about it?
definitely. They forgot what they achieved one minute after its achievement. Serena ends for the year 2012 with Wimbledon’s victory, US Open, Olympics and WTA finals. She walks out of the field and asks me to reach a plan for her to win open French. She says, “I was chasing her for 10 years. I want to win Roland Garros, and put a plan for me to win.” (Williams won the 2013 French class.)
The past is the past. It is important not to look at the past. Let’s move. Always focus on the trip, where we want to go.
What has changed from tennis in recent years?
In general, the level of fitness improved a lot. It is easy to explain. All big players travel with a fitness coach and a physiotherapist. This was not true before. The movement of players is much better. On the side of the woman, (Arena) SabalinkaFor its time, it moves well. Then Iga (swiatek) and Coco (Gof).
(Carlos)The sinner, from madness, how to move on the field. Even a person like Thomas Machak. So it is difficult to hit the winners, to get the ball via the field. If Naomi continues to develop as it is, you will be able to hit the largest winners again.
Naomi said she did not know if you were going to be a good coach, because you trained Serena and wondered whether Serena needed training. Others are sometimes wondering how impacts when you train these great people at all? How does this affect you?
People who say this does not know what they are talking about. If you train Naomi and do nothing good, I will hear about it. I am not proud of the training champion. For me, if I don’t bring it to its upper level, I did not do a good job.
(Alawite Image: David Gray / Avenue via Getti Emiez)
