Tennis Australian Open Women's Singles -

Mats Wilander backs Naomi Osaka to cause 'serious upsets' after Caroline Garcia win - 'The game has not passed her'

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Naomi Osaka won her first-round match at the Australian Open as she beat Caroline Garcia in three sets. Eurosport experts Mats Wilander and Tim Henman were both impressed by Osaka, with Wilander saying "the game has not passed her". Osaka also revealed that she "had someone go and get my daughter’s birth certificate" amid the wildfires in Los Angeles where she is a resident.

Osaka sent someone to get daughter's birth certificate as LA fires came close to house

Video credit: TNT Sports

Mats Wilander believes Naomi Osaka has the potential to "cause some serious upsets in the next couple of years" after winning her first Australian Open match since 2022.

Two-time champion Osaka saw off Caroline Garcia in three sets in a rematch of a first-round match from last year, which Garcia won.

Osaka returned to the tour last season after giving birth and showed flashes of her best form throughout the year.

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Wilander says Osaka is showing that, despite her time off the tour, the "game has not passed her".

"She needs to play more matches, she is a little bit inconsistent still," he explained. "But she played well in the first set and third set and that is what matters.

"The game has not passed her, she plays so well at times and if she keeps the attitude going, she could cause some serious upsets in the next couple of years.

Highlights: Osaka battles past Garcia in first round

Video credit: TNT Sports

"They both have such big games and that’s why it was a bit up and down at times but they are both great ball strikers and it was a good first-round match."

Osaka will next face 20th seed Karolina Muchova as she bids to reach the third round in Melbourne.

She came into the tournament on the back of reaching the final in Auckland after a first pre-season with new coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

"She has been a great player already and has won Grand Slam titles so she knows what it takes," added Eurosport expert Tim Henman about Osaka.

"Sometimes, when you have got a new coach in your corner it can be about trying to get the same message across but in a slightly different fashion.

"I think sometimes she is such a good player she almost tries to play too well and that is when some of the unforced errors flow from her racquet. When she starts to be aggressive from the back of the court and doesn’t make those mistakes that is where she plays great tennis.

"Osaka will be thrilled to get through that match."

Osaka reveals impact of LA fires

Osaka said after the win that she was "really grateful to play on Rod Laver again" and was "a bit shocked when I saw the schedule".

"A really big honour for me," she added.

Osaka also spoke about how she had been impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles.

Osaka is a resident of LA and said: "I was watching the fire map and the fire is three blocks from my house.

"I had someone go and get my daughter’s birth certificate because I didn’t know what would happen if that burned down. Sending all my love to LA."

Speaking in her post-match press conference, Osaka added: "I think it's tougher now because I find my home is more of a home because I have memories with my daughter and there's so many things like keepsakes and stuff like that.

"And obviously you can't hoard them all when you're asking someone to go to your house and just grab stuff. So it is really tough in that sense and I'm not there, so I don't know how bad it is or how bad it's going to get.

"But I think the biggest thing that I am grateful for is that everyone in my family is safe."

Osaka has lost her last two meetings against Muchova, including at the 2024 US Open.

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