DOHA – Naomi Osaka put the first-round defeat in Abu Dhabi on Feb 6 behind her with a straight-set defeat of 15th seed Caroline Garcia at the Qatar Open.

This was former world No. 1 Osaka’s second win from the five singles matches she has played since returning in January after a 15-month break on maternity leave from the tour.

The Japanese four-time Grand Slam winner was exacting a small measure of revenge on Garcia with this 7-5, 6-4 success in Doha on Feb 12, as it was the French star who knocked her out in the first round of the Australian Open in January.

And she reckons she is beginning to find her stride again after becoming a mum.

“I feel like I’m a much better player now. In Australia, my returns weren’t as good and I don’t feel like I was as focused as I am now,” said the 26-year-old.

On coming back physically after pregnancy, she added: “It’s been a really tough journey. I felt like I was chasing myself in the past and it honestly wasn’t really healthy to do.

“After giving birth, I feel I trained really quickly. I’m a very big perfectionist and it’s tough when you don’t see results as quickly.

“I felt like I was driving a car that wasn’t mine. So my body didn’t feel like the body that I was used to.

“It was in that journey I felt like I learnt how to love myself as I am now. I got to wake up every day and see my daughter and know that I was strong enough for her to come into this world.”

Osaka’s next assignment on her comeback trail is a round-of-32 date with Petra Martic of Croatia.

This is the second time the pair have crossed swords, but it comes a decade after their first encounter.

Osaka prevailed on that occasion, a final qualifier at Stanford in 2014.

The omens did not look great for Osaka on Feb 12 as Garcia won her first 11 service points, but she knuckled down and finally broke her opponent when she was serving for the set to level at 5-5.

She then fended off two break points before wrapping up the set with a love break.

A further break of serve in the last game of the match earned her the pick-me-up win she needed after her early knockout a week ago.

“Every time I had a break-point opportunity, I was very accurate with my shot,” said Garcia.

“And I was able to take this opportunity in Australia and today I was not. The same as Australia, it was played on very few points alone.

“Those points she was a better player today.”

Iga Swiatek began her quest for a third straight title in emphatic fashion with a 6-1, 6-1 second-round win over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.

“I feel like it was a really solid match,” the world No. 1 said.

“I kind of felt like I was able to keep my focus from the beginning to the end and then after every game I was more confident and I could even relax a little bit more at the end.”

Also through was sixth seed Marketa Vondrousova after her 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 defeat of Belgian Greet Minnen.

Over in the men’s circuit in Buenos Aires, Carlos Alcaraz said on Feb 12 that if he had to choose between an Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Games or the French Open title, he would go for the gold.

The Spaniard, who won the US Open in 2022 and Wimbledon in 2023, was asked about his goals this season ahead of the Argentina Open, where he is the defending champion.

“If I had to choose one target this year, I’d choose the Olympic gold over Roland Garros,” he said.

The French Open will be played from May 20 to June 9, with the Olympic tennis event at the same Roland Garros venue from July 27 to Aug 4.

“I’m in good form and I played well in Australia. And the tennis I’ve played in training on clay courts has been very good too,” the 20-year-old Alcaraz said. AFP