MELBOURNE, Australia — Fashion and friction have been the hallmarks of Naomi Osaka’s two rounds at the Australian Open, and these two couldn’t be more different.
Osaka defeated Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 on Thursday night at Margaret Court Arena. Costia’s parting shot found the back of the net.
The two barely shook hands at the net, with Cirstea briefly glancing in Osaka’s direction before looking away.
As they walked toward the referee’s table, Osaka asked, “What’s that for?”
Kostya responded directly to the two-time Australian Open champion, unhappy with Osaka’s efforts to cheer him up during the match.
“Obviously she’s angry about a lot of ‘come on,'” Osaka said, “but whatever. I think this is her last Australian Open, so, well, sorry she’s angry about it.”
Asked to clarify why tensions with the 35-year-old Romanian had heightened, Osaka became emotional in an on-court interview, saying: “She could have asked me (to stop).”
“Honestly… no one complained before. And the ref didn’t tell me I was wrong – the ref said I was fine. Like, I thought we were over it.”
She said she was willing to discuss the matter with Cirstea.
“I think her emotions were very high. I also wanted to apologize,” Osaka said. “I think the first few things I said on the court were disrespectful. I don’t like to be disrespectful. That’s not what I do.”
Sistia said the issue was exaggerated and she preferred to reflect on her decades at the Australian Open.
“There was no drama. It was just a five-second exchange between two long-time Tour players,” she said. “It stays between us.”
The tense finish was in stark contrast to Osaka’s grand entrance in her first-round victory over Antonia Ruzic two days earlier.
For the second round, she ditched the couture sombrero, veil and parasol, but still wore a jellyfish-inspired dress, a matching warm-up jacket in the same aquatic shades of blue and green, and a visor.
“It’s just something fun that I like to do on the court. I like to express myself through clothes,” Osaka said of her pregame walk-on designs.
“I’m really glad you guys liked it,” she added, looking up at two women in the crowd who were wearing replicas of the sombrero and veil Osaka wore as a walk-on in the previous game. “You guys look really cool, by the way.”
