The humble act to prove fame won't change Naomi Osaka
Twelve hours after winning the Australian Open on Saturday night, Naomi Osaka was up and posing with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup in Melbourne’s sunshine at Brighton Beach.
Depending on the champion’s preferred mode of celebration the day-after photoshoot can be a tough morning – just ask Roger Federer.
The Swiss great memorably turned up more than a little dusty for his Monday edition after winning his drought-breaking 2017 title.
But there appeared to be no such issues for Osaka on Sunday, and perhaps now we know why.
Did a smart decision pave the way for an extra hour – if not more – of sleep?
It turns out the 21-year-old declined the opportunity to have a stylist and make-up artist take care of her look for the photoshoot.
She was offered a stylist and makeup. She declined, said she’d just wear a dress she had and did her own makeup.
— Courtney Nguyen (@FortyDeuceTwits) January 27, 2019
While she likely wasn’t the first and won’t be the last to choose that route, more important than sleep is the humble act in itself.
A family-first youngster, digging into her own bag and standing in front of the mirror the morning after becoming the new world No.1 is further proof that the fame and success isn’t going to her head.
Now $4.1 million richer after the victory, Osaka already had no answer when asked if she would lavish some of the money on her and her relatives in Melbourne this weekend.
“For me, if my mum’s happy I’m happy,” she said late on Saturday night, adding that her mum already has everything she needs.
The bizarre reason Osaka didn’t smile during trophy presentation
“I forgot.”
That’s the typically hilarious response Naomi Osaka offered when asked why she hardly smiled during the Australian Open trophy presentation.
Osaka appeared completely overawed by the moment after winning her second grand slam crown on Saturday night.
There was very little emotion once the trophy presentation began, and the 21-year-old rarely smiled.
But according to Osaka, it was a simple case of being lost in the moment.
“I mean, I forgot to smile. I was told to smile and I didn’t,” she said afterwards.
“I was panicking. Yeah, I’m going to be thinking about that for the rest of today.”
Osaka said she was still in game mode, making the strange admission that she hadn’t realised the match was over.
“For me I still felt like that the match was going on and I felt like I was in a state of shock throughout the entire trophy presentation,” she said.
“I am always smiling. It is definitely sinking in as time goes on.”
She then elaborated in her post-match press conference.
“I’m just so tired. I don’t know how anyone is awake right now,” she said.
“Maybe the next day I’ll think about it more. But for me, I don’t know, like I still feel very shocked. Like, I felt like the match wasn’t completely done, but it was done, you know?
“It’s one of those moments where you’re fighting so hard. When it’s finally over, you’re still in the state of, like, competitiveness.”