LONDON: Naomi Osaka said Sunday she hopes to mark her daughter’s first birthday by making a winning return to Wimbledon thanks to a helping hand from Novak Djokovic.
The Japanese superstar, a four-time Grand Slam champion and a former world number one, hasn’t played at the All England Club since 2019.
Osaka takes on Diane Parry of France in her opener on Monday, the day before she celebrates daughter Shai’s first birthday.
“She’s one on Tuesday so it will be very exciting day,” said the 26-year-old.
“It’s been a great journey and I’m lucky and blessed to have happy girl with lots of energy. It’s a dream to be here with her now.”
Osaka’s four majors came on the hard courts of the US Open and Australian Open.
She made the third round at Wimbledon in 2017 and 2018, losing to former champions Venus Williams and Angelique Kerber respectively.
Her most recent appearance in 2019 was brief with a first round loss to Yulia Putintseva.
In order to improve her chances at this year’s tournament, Osaka has sounded out seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic.
“I tried to slide on grass. I asked Novak how he did it. I have tried a few times but it has been scary. I think I may have to wait for the grass to get brown a little,” she said.
“But he told me no matter if he falls he keeps getting up and doing it. He said I have to overcome the fear of getting hurt.”
Osaka, who only returned to the tour at the start of the year afer maternity leave, is ranked at 113 in the world and required a wild card to play at Wimbledon.
At the recent French Open, she gave world number one Iga Swiatek a mighty scare, holding a match point in their second round clash before the Pole prevailed.
Since then she made the quarter-finals of the grass-court tournament at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and pushed world number eight Zheng Qinwen to three sets in the opening round in Berlin.
“It’s a little weird as I feel I have been playing really well this year but just not making a lot of quarter-finals,” said Osaka.
“I feel that had I not played Iga, I could have gone a long way in Paris. I just need some luck.”
She added: “I lost first round in Berlin, but I learned lot. I’m feeling pretty good about myself. People tell me I have game for grass.”
Djokovic inspires Osaka at Wimbledon ahead of daughter’s birthday
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Djokovic inspires Osaka at Wimbledon ahead of daughter’s birthday
Fleetwood targets world no. 1 as he defends Dubai Invitational title
- Event is taking place at Dubai Creek Resort from Jan. 15-18
DUBAI: Tommy Fleetwood is relishing the challenge of playing against a world-class field at the Dubai Invitational as he looks to successfully defend his title and mount a charge towards the world no. 1 ranking at Dubai Creek Resort from Jan. 15-18.
The Englishman produced a dramatic birdie-birdie finish at the inaugural event in 2024 to edge out Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy on the final day, and he heads into the opening event of the International Swing full of confidence after a career-defining 2025 season.
The 34-year-old became only the second Englishman in history to capture the PGA Tour’s prestigious FedExCup title with his victory at the Tour Championship. He followed that triumph with a victory at the DP World India Championship before playing a starring role in Europe’s historic Ryder Cup victory at Bethpage Black, finishing as the leading points scorer across both teams.
“I played really well here two years ago,” said the Dubai resident. “I enjoyed playing with Rory in that last round.
“Any time you get to test yourself against one of the greatest of all time is always a lot of fun. It’s a great finish. I think it was a good reminder that anything can happen, that you just have to stick in. I felt like I had control of the tournament on the back nine and Rory came through. Thriston (Lawrence) had an amazing round. And things went my way. It was just a reminder that you have to keep going and play until the very end.
“And winning is always cool. I had the family there. It was amazing.”
Off the back of his stellar 2025 season, Fleetwood finds himself at a career-high third in the official world golf ranking, with runaway leader Scottie Scheffler and career Grand Slam winner McIlroy the only players above him.
While Fleetwood knows there is much work to do to get past them, he is aiming for the very top, with this week’s Dubai Invitational offering early-season opportunities to build momentum toward that goal.
“I would love to,” he said of challenging for top spot. “There is a clear gap, those two guys are definitely the best golfers in the world. I’m just one of the players in the pack behind that has some catching up to do there.
“Look at every aspect of my game, where I can improve, where I can pick the smallest amount of shots up to those guys.
“But it’s an amazing challenge, if you think of it like that. Starting the year in a different position than I’ve ever been, world no. 3, and I think that’s very cool and very exciting to have to think about trying to maintain the level that I’ve reached there, and I think that’s very, very exciting.”
Fleetwood will once again face McIlroy in the field, alongside fellow Open champions Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington and Francesco Molinari. The field also boasts multiple DP World Tour winners, including Ryan Fox, Matt Wallace, Nicolai Hojgaard and Race to Dubai leader Jayden Schaper.
The 60 professionals will be joined by 60 amateurs competing in the pro-am format, including tournament host Abdulla Al-Naboodah, NFL legends Larry Fitzgerald and John Elway, along with former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke.
