Naomi Osaka says she is back to being able to fully rely on her legs once again and that is the thing that made her "really happy" during a Miami Open first-round comeback win over Yulia Starodubtseva 3-6 6-4 6-3.
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After losing to Camila Osorio in her Indian Wells opener in her first match since retiring injured at the Australian Open, the Japanese tennis star also found herself in jeopardy of exiting Miami after only one match. But after qualifier Starodubtseva opened a 6-4 4-2 lead, the former world No. 1 managed to turn things around with a four-game winning run late in the second set and then also complete her comeback by earning the lone break of the third set in the fourth game.
When Osaka started running around - getting a lot of balls back and reducing her mistakes - that's when the Ukrainian world No. 108 found herself in danger.
Osaka: I haven't thought about relying on my wheels in a long time
"I think the thing I'm most proud of is my movement. I think I was able to get a lot of balls back today. I don't think I've in my head thought to rely on my wheels in a really long time. So I'm really glad I've gotten to this point in my fitness. It's been quite a long journey post-pregnancy. I'm really happy about that," the 27-year-old explained in her post-match presser.
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Next up for Osaka will be a third career meeting versus Liudmila Samsonova, who had a first-round bye. The former world No. 1 beat Samsonova in Indian Wells last year before falling short in their Madrid clash.
