20 time grand slam champion Roger Federer has claimed that a ‘winners mentality’ has helped Naomi Osaka win her first grand slam.
The Swiss superstar was speaking at an event with Japanese clothing company, Uniqlo, who now sponsor Federer in a multi-million dollar deal.
The Australian Open champion spoke about Osaka’s winning mentality and claimed that has helped her win her first grand slam title at the US Open in August, “I think winning Indian Wells helped her to believe that she could also win another big title,” Federer explained.
“I think she is a champion in the sense that she doesn’t shy away from the big stage. Indian Wells is the second biggest tennis court we have in the world and the US Open is the biggest one. She succeeded in both of them and that shows a winner’s mentality.”
That is certainly some praise from a great champion such as Federer to be giving someone like Naomi Osaka, who looks destined for more grand slam success in the future.
The Japanese star booked her place at the WTA Finals in Singapore today after a 6-1 6-0 thrashing of Danielle Collins to make the last 16 of the China Open.
The WTA Finals will mark Osaka’s first appearance at the season-ending finale and spoke to the WTA website about how excited she is about the event, “Qualifying for the WTA Finals is a huge accomplishment,” Osaka stated.
“Winning the WTA Rising Stars Invitational in 2015 helped give me the confidence to play on the big stages, so I am excited to go back to Singapore and compete with the top players of the season.”
The Japanese star now searches for her third title of the season, when she continues her China Open campaign against Julia Goerges on Thursday.
