Naomi Osaka secured a straight-sets victory over Anastasia Gasanova to advance to the third round of Wimbledon, but immediately pushed back against her on-court interviewer's assessment of her performance. The four-time Grand Slam champion won 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday at the All England Club, yet she told BBC's Jenny Drummond that she did not rate her own display.
Osaka Rejects Compliment
After the match, Drummond opened with: "Naomi, very well played. It's not always easy to play someone you haven't met before, a qualifier who has played a few matches to get into the second round. How would you rate your performance out there today?"
Osaka replied: "I mean, I don't rate my performance, I feel like I have to take a little bit of time before that. My current emotion is I'm just happy I was able to win and she was playing amazing so I'm glad that I was able to do it in straight sets. I felt pretty tight, so I wasn't covering the ball as well as I could have. She was dominating me in some rallies, so tomorrow I just want to practice a little bit more."
Match Statistics
The former world number one converted three of her six break points and never faced a break point on her own serve. She won 71% of points on her first serve and 50% on her second, while Gasanova managed 56% and 38% respectively. Osaka hit 16 winners to Gasanova's 12, but also committed 14 unforced errors compared to her opponent's 18.
Motivation from Daughter's Birthday
Osaka admitted she felt nervous during the match, partly because she wanted to avoid an early exit that would disrupt her daughter Shai's third birthday on Thursday. "Yes, well, tomorrow is my daughter's birthday," she explained. "I just wanted to be here for longer. I don't want to make her get on a plane on her birthday. I was really happy about today. Obviously, I have to practice in the morning, but maybe after go around the park. She loves making friends. Probably do that."
Next Round Opponent
Osaka, seeded 14th, will face either Indonesia's Janice Tjen or Australia's Daria Kasatkina on Friday for a place in the fourth round. The 28-year-old has reached the third round at Wimbledon three times previously — in 2017, 2018 and 2025 — but has never advanced further. A win on Friday would mark her best-ever performance at the grass-court Grand Slam.
