Djokovic inspires Osaka at Wimbledon on the occasion of her daughter’s birthday

LONDON (AFP-Jiji) — Naomi Osaka said on Sunday she hopes to celebrate her daughter’s first birthday by making a winning return to Wimbledon, thanks to the helping hand of Novak Djokovic.

The Japanese superstar, four-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one, has not played at the All England Club since 2019.

Osaka will face France’s Diane Parry in her opening match on Monday, the day before she celebrates her daughter Shai’s first birthday.

“She turns one on Tuesday, so it’s going to be a very exciting day,” said the 26-year-old.

“It’s been an amazing journey and I’m blessed and fortunate to have a happy girl with a lot of energy. It’s a dream to be here with her now.”

Osaka’s four majors have been held on hard courts: the US Open and the Australian Open.

She reached 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 short-lived with a first-round loss to Yulia Putintseva.

In a bid to boost her chances at this year’s tournament, Osaka has reached out to seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic.

“I tried to slide on the grass. I asked Novak how he did it. I tried a few times, but it was scary. I think maybe I should wait until the grass gets a little brown,” she said.

“But he told me that it doesn’t matter if he falls, he’ll just keep getting up and keep doing it. He said I have to overcome the fear of getting hurt.”

Osaka, who only returned to the tour at the beginning of this year after her maternity leave, is ranked 113 in the world and needed a wild card to play at Wimbledon.

At the recent French Open, she shocked world number one Iga Swiatek by taking a match point in their second round before the Polish woman won.

Since then she has reached the quarter-finals of the grass tournament in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and pushed world number eight Zheng Qinwen to three sets in the opening round in Berlin.

“It’s a bit weird because I feel like I played really well this year, but I didn’t make it to the quarterfinals very often,” Osaka said.

“I think if I hadn’t played Iga I could have gone far in Paris. I just need some luck.”

She added: “I lost the first round in Berlin, but I learned a lot. I feel pretty good about myself. People say I have a game for grass.”