Tensions were running high at the Australian Open on Thursday, Jan. 22, after Naomi Osaka beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, to advance to the third round.
Osaka met Cirstea at the net for the customary handshake and exchanged words after Cirstea appeared visibly upset by the four-time Grand Slam champion shouting ‘Come on’ between serves during the match.
Osaka was asked about the exchange during her on-court post-match interview.
‘Apparently, a lot of ‘come ons’ that she was angry about, but whatever. I mean, I tried to play well, I think I hit a lot of unforced errors, but I tried my best,’ Osaka said, as she held back tears when asked about her shouting during the match. ‘She’s a great player, I think this was her last Australian Open. so … okay, sorry she was mad about it.’
Later, during the post-match press conference, Osaka apologized for being disrespectful to Cirstea, who was playing in her last Australian Open after announcing her retirement from the tour last year.
‘Well, if I’m being honest, I’ve never been involved in something like this before, so it’s like I don’t know if we’re supposed to leave it on the court and be like, Hey, how you doing?,’ Osaka said.
‘I’m a little confused. I guess that emotions were very high for her. I also want to apologize. I think the first couple things that I said on the court was disrespectful. I don’t like disrespecting people. That’s not what I do.
‘So yeah, I mean, if she wants to talk about it, then yeah. But, like, when I’m pumping myself up, in my head I’m not like, okay, now I’m going to distract the other person. It’s purely for me.’
Osaka will take on Maddison Inglis in the third round.