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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Naomi Osaka wore seven masks to the US Open to highlight racial injustice and, based on her impressive performance in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Flushing Meadows seems destined to see them all.
Before the 6-3 6-4 victory over Shelby Rogers, the former champion unveiled the fifth mask stamped with the name of George Floyd, the African American who died in police custody in Minneapolis in May.
Two more remain in Osaka’s uniform bag for the semi-final against American Jenny Brady and possibly her second US Open final at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday.
“I just have a hunch,” he told ESPN, explaining how he decided which mask to wear.
“I feel like a vessel to spread awareness.”
The highlight of the topic has taken some of the attention away from what has been a very impressive tournament for the fourth-seeded tournament, as she has reached her third Grand Slam semi-final.
On Tuesday, she made just eight unforced errors in two sets against a player with some big shots who she had never beaten before.
“He played pretty flawless,” Rogers said. “I think you can go a couple more if you want.
“He’s more confident in who he is, what his game is, how
to play.”
Osaka, who at 22 already has two Grand Slam titles after winning the 2018 US Open and backing up at the 2019 Australian Open, said she had spent a lot of time during the coronavirus shutdown thinking about how he wanted to approach his tennis.
“Honestly, all of 2019 after winning Australia, I just pushed myself too hard, I wasn’t enjoying it,” Osaka said.
“When (I lost) to Coco (Gauff) in Australia this year, I was very stressed. So I thought to myself, I’m going to quarantine myself to mentally assess what I want to do when I get back.
“When you go out in Ashe, there’s a Billy Jean King quote ‘pressure is a privilege,’ and I feel like it’s incredibly true.”
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney; Edited by Peter Rutherford)
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