Column: Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka took different journeys over last year to become No. 1 in world
Novak Djokovic came to the BNP Paribas Open a year ago in search of his old self. Unable to avoid surgery on a painful elbow that had plagued him for several years, the former world No. 1 felt his body had betrayed him. His advisors told him not to play. He insisted. It seemed they knew something; he lost his first match.
“I did go through doubtful moments and questioning everything, and experiencing a surgery for the first time in my life was something I had never experienced before and I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I just had to acquaint myself with the new sensations, mental, physical, emotional, and it was all a great learning curve for me.”
Naomi Osaka came to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden a year ago with no plan other than to “have fun, maybe make it to the quarters.” And then the unthinkable happened.
“I kept playing really great players in every round and I was just like, ‘I’m here for a good time,’” said Osaka, who was then ranked No. 44. “But then I kept winning and I was like, ‘Whoa, maybe I can actually win this tournament,’ and I did.”
In the year since their appearances in Indian Wells they’ve learned a lot about themselves and have enjoyed enormous success, Djokovic accomplishing it without losing his thoughtful, inquiring personality and Osaka without changing her funny, self-deprecating nature. That’s also a triumph of major proportions.
By the end of 2018 Djokovic was No. 1 again, propelled by winning at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He sustained that by winning the Australian Open this year.
“It was quite a journey in the last 12 months,” said the 31-year-old Serb, who is enjoying his 241st week as No. 1 in the world and will open play here Saturday against American qualifier Bjorn Fratangelo.
Osaka stumbled a bit after her Indian Wells victory as she tried to avoid becoming a one-win wonder.
“I was just thinking if I won here maybe I’d have to win every tournament from then on, you know?” she said during a news conference Thursday. “And I just put this ridiculous pressure on myself. And I didn’t do well in clay season. Grass either. And hard court, I was just expecting to hit the ground running and that didn’t happen. I just decided to have fun again, which was the mentality I had coming in here the first time.”
It worked.
She won her first Grand Slam event by defeating Serena Williams in a tumultuous U.S. Open final, unnecessarily apologizing for winning and sobbing when the crowd, supporting Williams’ claims of being robbed by chair umpire Carlos Ramos’ sexism, booed during the trophy ceremony.
Osaka made it two major titles in a row by winning at Australia in January and reaching the top spot in the rankings.
“You know what’s insane?” said Osaka, who will open play Saturday against Kristina Mladenovic. “Theoretically speaking, the U.S. Open wasn’t that long ago. But when you’re asking me about it, it feels like forever.”
Djokovic is an example of the cliché that losses can yield more lessons than wins. He has no regrets about having played here last year even though his stay was brief.
“I think maybe from this perspective I could have, should have maybe made a different decision,” he said, “but I believe it also taught me some valuable lessons that helped me to create amazing results in the next seven, eight months and get from 22 in the world to No. 1 in the world in less than six months. That was quite unlikely to happen, considering how I was playing and feeling on the court, but I’m very grateful for that journey.”
Asked if he had any advice for Osaka as a newcomer to the No. 1 ranking and the duress that brings, Djokovic offered praise, not suggestions.
“She seems very mature and she seems like she has already done it, like she has experienced it already, which is quite impressive,” he said. “The way she handled the U.S. Open finals closing ceremony, I thought it was terrific under circumstances that were not easy for her and not easy for anybody.
“I thought it was very impressive for her to win the Australian Open several months after her first Grand Slam win and to position herself as No. 1 in the world. Everything she’s been doing so far is very positive and she’s very kind, very genuine. She comes across as someone that works hard and respects the game. Everybody likes her, and I have no advice. She’s done everything perfect.”
Osaka, of course, would disagree. That’s part of her charm, along with a touchingly sensitive nature. After a pleasant encounter with fans this week she posted an introspective message on her Twitter account about the strangeness of being pursued for photos and autographs not so many years after she was asking the same of her idols.
“It felt really crazy to me that I’m possibly in the shoes of the people that I looked up to,” she said. “For me, it was really mind-blowing.”
And now there’s a Barbie doll modeled in her image, part of a “Sheroes” series of diverse dolls. Although it was given unrealistically slender arms and legs it has the curly hair and brown skin tone she got from her Japanese mother and Haitian father. That’s significant to Osaka, who plans to give her partnership fee to an elementary school in Haiti.
“For me it’s a little bit surreal,” she said, “because I know of course last year, nothing that close would have come my way but this year I have opportunities like that. And just having the chance to represent people that might not think they could be represented, I think that’s a really important goal for me.”
Consider it one of many goals she and Djokovic have accomplished since they last played here.
Follow Helene Elliott on Twitter @helenenothelen
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