Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka says she plans to watch videos of Rafael Nadal on clay as she attempts to improve her own game on the surface.
Osaka is yet to win a clay-court title so far in her career but believes the surface is one she can still learn to master.
The 24-year-old reached the final of the Miami Open last week but lost to new world number one Iga Swiatek in straight sets.
And with the hard court season now finished for the time being, the Japanese star has set herself some lofty targets between now and the end of the year.
Nadal is undisputedly the greatest clay-court player of all time, having won the French Open on a record 13 occasions.
The Spaniard is renowned for gliding around the clay with effortless ease and Osaka has admitted she plans on studying Nadal’s matches.
“I’m going to watch a lot of Nadal videos to see how he moves,” she told the WTA website.
Osaka also referenced the young teenager Carlos Alcaraz, who is taking the men’s game by storm at the moment and has been compared to a young Nadal.
Alcaraz, who is still just 18 years old, won his first ATP 1000 title at the Miami Open last week and is considered one of the favourites to win this year’s French Open.
“Shout out, [Carlos] Alcaraz, because he’s killing it. I just think that knowing I’m still a student and I have to keep learning, clay and grass is something I really want to tackle this year. So I’m willing kind of to do whatever it takes to get good results. Not that results are everything, but I really want to do well.”
Despite failing to reach beyond the third round of Roland-Garros so far in her career, Osaka is confident she can still improve on the surface.
In the past, the former world number one has reached
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