Her first match of the season on the surface
ended in an opening-round loss to Martina Trevisan at Rouen last
week but she responded with a 6-4 6-1 win over Greet Minnen at
the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
"I slid a couple of times to my forehand pretty well, so I was
excited about that," Osaka told reporters. "She was hitting
really good drop shots, but I think I got to a couple quite
well. Movement-wise I'm feeling a lot more comfortable.
"I want to adapt and I'm trying to, but there are things that
work for me and have gotten me to where I am, so I don't want to
start slicing and dicing.
"There's a basis to my game and I want to stick to that, but
also respect the court. It's a work in progress for me, but I'm
watching a lot more matches on clay. I'm trying to do my
homework as best as I can."
Osaka, who is now ranked 197th in the world, has never made it
to a final on clay and has failed to advance beyond the third
round at Roland Garros.
"I'd like to win a tournament on clay," said Osaka, who meets
Liudmila Samsonova next in Madrid.
"It would be very ironic but also hilarious if my first
tournament (win of the comeback) would be on clay."
The French Open begins on May 26.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
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