'Super nervous' Naomi Osaka wins comeback match at Brisbane International

Former world number one and new mother Naomi Osaka said on Monday that she was proud to have won her first match back after a long break admitting she had been super nervous The 26yearold was on court at the Brisbane International for an hour and 47 minutes before finally seeing off gallant German Tamara Korpatsch 63 76 119 on Pat Rafter Arena I was super nervous but I was excited to be out there said Osaka a fourtime Grand Slam champion who stepped away from tennis in September 2022 citing mental health concerns I think its better to have harder matches early because it will train me for whats to come I know all the opponents I play arent easy anyway so it would be very out there for me to think my first match would be a 61 61 win Looking back on the match now honestly Im very proud of myself I feel like I played at a pretty good level After giving birth to a baby girl in July Osaka rediscovered her love of the game and decided to return for the 2024 season It looked like she had never been away when she broke Korpatsch to love in the opening game then broke once more to take the first set relatively comfortably But it was a different story in the second set as Korpatsch lifted and Osaka began to feel the pressure Korpatsch broke Osakas serve to start the second set and although the Japanese star broke straight back she was no longer as settled against the tenacious GermanAlso Read Olympics more Slams on Osakarsquos mindOsaka did break once more and was serving for the match at 54 but she was broken again and it went to a tiebreak where both players had their chances Osaka squandered two match points and Korpatsch two set points before Osaka prevailed on her third opportunity with a powerful forehand down the line She said courtside that motherhood had changed her outlook on the game and she had felt too isolated from fans and fellow players previously The last couple of years that I played before I had my daughter I didnt return as much love as I was given she said So I really feel like thats what I want to do in this chapter I just really appreciate people coming out and cheering for me I would say shes her daughter helped me grow up so much so quickly Osaka added Off the court Im more aware of people and I appreciate them a lot more even my opponents and everything In the mens draw world number eight and top seed Holger Rune came from a set down to defeat Australian Max Purcell The big serving Purcell took the opening set against a rusty looking Rune but the Dane became increasingly assured as the match wore on and took charge to win 46 64 62 Second seed Grigor Dimitrov was also recovered from losing the first set to defeat former world number one Andy Murray 46 75 62 Earlier Russias Roman Safiullin ousted third seeded American Ben Shelton 63 67 57 63 in a match lasting over twoandahalf hours at the Brisbane InternationalWith agency inputs