Australian Open: Osaka coach Sascha Bajin:”Naomi not far from Serena and Co.”

Against the world’s number one player, Simona Halep, came to an end in the last 16 – but Naomi Osaka could still start this year.

One of the most interesting player/coach combinations this season: Naomi Osaka and Sascha Bajin. The young Japanese player is already known for her formidable performance in last year’s first round of the US Open against Angelique Kerber; at the Australian Open Osaka reached the last sixteen, where she first lost to the world’s number one, Simona Halep.

An old acquaintance of the WTA scene wants to provide for the future fine-tuning. And Sascha Bajin, long-time hitting partner of Serena Williams, already showed last year at the side of Caroline Wozniacki that he is in a good position with forecasts: At that time, he predicted the Dane another leap into the top five in the world – at the end of the year, World Champion Wozniacki was in third place.

Osaka, currently in 72nd place and already number 40, Bajin is confident in the top 30 at the end of 2018, as he explained to SRF:”That’s my goal,” said Bajin,”After knowing what it feels like to play with Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, who were all number 1 once, and Sloane Stephens as well.

Osaka is very open-minded, likes to receive information, is very quiet,”it’s really a pleasant working environment”, Bajin continued. She also has a lot of power and can reach speeds of more than 200 km/h – the goal is therefore to use pure power more effectively:”If she gets even more understanding of how she can use this power, then we have the next champion,”says the Munich rider.