<p>When things become hard on the court, Naomi Osaka’s motherhood has given her a different perspective.</p>
<p>The four-time major champion defeated Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 7-6 (9) on Monday at the Brisbane International after being broken when serving to force a tiebreaker that required three match chances. This was her first competitive match since September 2022.</p>
<p><img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-334801″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/theindiaprint.com-great-shift-overnight-naomi-osaka-on-her-first-victory-following-her-return-from-m.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com great shift overnight naomi osaka on her first victory following her return from m” width=”1175″ height=”658″ title=”"Great Shift Overnight": Naomi Osaka on Her First Victory Following Her Return from Maternity Leave 9″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/theindiaprint.com-great-shift-overnight-naomi-osaka-on-her-first-victory-following-her-return-from-m.jpg 300w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/theindiaprint.com-great-shift-overnight-naomi-osaka-on-her-first-victory-following-her-return-from-m-150×84.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1175px) 100vw, 1175px” /></p>
<p>After withdrawing from the Australian Open the previous year, Osaka made her pregnancy public. In July, she gave birth to a baby named Shai in Los Angeles with rapper Cordae, her boyfriend.</p>
<p>Regarding her comeback to the tour as a mother, the once-number-one ranked Osaka said, “It’s a big change overnight.” “I really like it because, in a sense, I feel that Shai has assisted me in maturing rapidly.</p>
<p>“Away from the court, I’m more conscious of people and I value everyone much more, including my rivals,” the player said. “It just helps me be stronger and stay in the moment more on the court.”</p>
<p>She remained cool and concentrated on giving herself another chance each time she lost a chance to win the match on Monday.</p>
<p>“I felt extremely anxious the entire time,” Osaka said. I had the impression that Shai was observing me. I wanted to give her all I had.</p>
<p>“I’m conscious of my playing because I want to set a good example for my kid. I believe I’m essentially trying to be the same old me apart from that.</p>
<p>Osaka has only participated in one competitive match prior to Monday, the first day of 2024, after her first-round loss at the 2022 U.S. Open.</p>
<p>But she’s been preparing for her homecoming for months, and part of that preparation has been refocusing on present-moment life.</p>
<p>She said to the Pat Rafter Arena audience, “I didn’t return as much love as I was given the last couple of years that I played before I had my daughter.” Thus, I firmly believe that’s what I should do in this chapter.</p>
<p>She is, of course, focusing more on the younger members of the audience.</p>
<p>She said during a press conference after the game, “I guess like towards the end when I was signing autographs, I was more aware of kids.” “Now that I’m a mother, too, I see them differently because I can envision Shai at that age.”</p>
<p>In the second round, Osaka will take on three-time Brisbane International winner and another former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova.</p>
<p>Due to the continuous rain, matches on outdoor courts had to be canceled, forcing them to take place inside the main stadium.</p>
<p>In the men’s draw, Australian Max Purcell was defeated 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 by first seed Holger Rune, while Andy Murray was defeated 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 by second-seeded Grigor Dimitrov in a two and a half-hour encounter.</p>
<p>Roman Safiullin defeated third-seeded American Ben Shelton, 21, who advanced to the U.S. Open quarterfinals the previous year, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3.</p>
<p>Despite being rated 39th, 26-year-old Safiullin defeated Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev in the previous year.</p>
<p>One of the major warm-up matches for the Australian Open, which gets underway in Melbourne on January 14, is the Brisbane International.</p>
“Great Shift Overnight”: Naomi Osaka on Her First Victory Following Her Return from Maternity Leave
