Naomi Osaka falls ill during Fed Cup match in Perth, hopes to play in Australian Open
PERTH, Australia — Four-time Grand Slam singles champion Naomi Osaka felt unwell during her Fed Cup match.
After Japan lost her first match to Greece’s Maria Sakkari on Friday, Osaka said she was “very ill” over the Christmas break and was not at 100 percent in the 6-4, 6-2 loss.
Osaka coughed from time to time during the game and appeared sluggish. She said she likely got the disease from her two-year-old daughter, Shai.
“I’ve been dealing with some health issues, so I’m happy to be here now,” Osaka said. “It’s not serious, but I’m not performing at the percentages I wanted to, which kind of sucks because I had a really good offseason, so I think I’m going to do well here.”
Osaka, who reached the semifinals of last year’s U.S. Open, said she thought she was almost over.
“I’m at the end of it, but it’s still not amazing,” she said. “I’m trying to get better every day. I have a cough, a runny nose, like all those nasty things, so hopefully it goes away before the Australian Open.”
The first Grand Slam tournament of the year will kick off in Melbourne on January 18.
Tsitsipas defeated Shintaro Mochizuki 6-3, 6-4 in the match between Greece and Japan and finally won.
