Osaka wants to 'play with the big dogs' after Miami win

Former satellite fig 1 Naomi Osaka wants to "play with the large dogs" again aft battling to a three-set triumph against Yuliia Starodubtseva successful the archetypal circular of the Miami Open.

Osaka came from a acceptable down to bushed Ukraine's Starodubtseva 3-6 6-4 6-3 and assertion her archetypal triumph since the Australian Open 2nd circular successful January.

It comes aft the Japanese subordinate described her first-round nonaccomplishment against Camila Osorio astatine Indian Wells 2 weeks agone arsenic the "worst lucifer I've ever played successful my life".

"I privation to play with the large dogs truthful atrocious and I conscionable spot everyone playing truthful good and I privation to bash the same," she said aft her two-and-a-half-hour epic against Starodubtseva.

"But I person to retrieve it's a process."

The four-time Grand Slam victor has had respective breaks from playing to prioritise her intelligence wellness arsenic good arsenic a maternity break.

She has not progressed past the 3rd circular of a large since her astir caller triumph astatine the 2021 Australian Open.

"I knew that I wasn't playing excessively well, but I thought, 'let maine effort to enactment connected the tribunal arsenic agelong arsenic possible', due to the fact that I see Miami my home," Osaka added.

"At Indian Wells I was conscionable over-hitting a lot, truthful I tried to usage my legs.

"I was going to tally into each country if I had to, and we were going to person to play for 3 hours if she was going to bushed me."