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Naomi Osaka admitted she was a bit frustrated over not doing better at the Australian Open for her daughter Shai.
Osaka, who welcomed her first child in the summer, played her first post-pregnancy Grand Slam tournament at her beloved Australian Open. In her return to Melbourne Park, two-time Australian Open champion Osaka didn't have much luck with the draw as she was drawn to meet No. 16 seed Caroline Garcia.
In what was the highlight of women's first-round action in Melbourne, four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka played well but it wasn't enough as Garcia sealed a tight 6-4 7-6 (2) win. After the match, 26-year-old Osaka revealed that someone sent her a video of her daughter Shai, who stayed home in the United States.
Before returning to the Australian Open, Osaka kicked off her post-pregnancy comeback at the Brisbane International, where she made a winning start before losing to Karolina Pliskova in three sets in the second round.
Osaka 'frustrated' she didn't do better for her daughter Shai
"I mean, I talk to and I think about Shai a lot. Before my match, I got sent a video of her. She wasn't obviously saying good luck, but I got a video of someone saying, 'Shai says good luck.' It was really cute. It made me happy and motivated, but at the same time a little frustrated because I felt like I should do better with the time I had away from her," Osaka said in her post-match press conference.
After getting broken in the fifth game of the first set, Osaka didn't manage to get the break back as Garcia served out for the opener in the 10th game.
Down by a set, Osaka routinely held on to her serve during the second set as she didn't face a single break point. However, Osaka also wasn't able to create any break points in the second set.
In the second-set tie-break, Osaka and Garcia were tied to two points apiece after the opening four points but then the Japanese lost the next five points and the match ultimately.
Although Osaka didn't make any deep runs in Australia, she was competitive and it was definitely an encouraging start to her comeback.