Osaka talks fashion but lets her game speak for itself in best Wimbledon run

LONDON, July 3 : Naomi Osaka continued to make a statement at Wimbledon as she paired her flair off the court with growing confidence on it to dismiss unseeded Australian Daria Kasatkina 6-1 6-3 on Friday and reach the last 16 for the first time.

Widely regarded as one of tennis's top fashion trailblazers, Osaka has attracted plenty of attention for eye-catching dresses in the first week, but the four-times Grand Slam champion from Japan is also letting her tennis take the spotlight.

Osaka, however, said she would be perfectly fine if her attire continued to be the main talking point.

"I'd actually prefer to talk about my clothes," Osaka said in her press conference.

"In some ways I feel I'm a lot more equipped to talk about my clothes than to talk about my tennis. It's strange, because I've been playing tennis for 20-something years. Some days I don't feel like an expert on it.

"If we were to talk about my outfit, I feel I could keep going on and on and on. I find it really fun that people care and are doing deep dives into the fabric and the making-of stories. I don't mind."

VARIATION OF 'KILL BILL' KIMONO

After shedding another variation of her "Kill Bill" kimono walk-on ensemble - which this time was a flower-patterned robe - the 14th seed mixed power with precision to see off Kasatkina and continue her best run at the All England Club.

"The longer I'm in the tournament, the more stories I can tell with my outfits anyways, because I like to mix and match," Osaka added.

"Even tennis-wise, I feel really good now. I feel pretty confident. I feel I'm playing really well. There's only so many tennis questions you can answer, you know? It's like the clothing questions are endless a little bit."

The 28-year-old fired a backhand