Naomi Osaka crowned new favorite to win US Open by Serena Williams' ex-coach after pushing Iga Swiatek to the brink in French Open masterclass

Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs picked Naomi Osaka as a favorite to win the 2024 US Open after coming close to causing an upset in the 2024 French Open. Osaka pushed Iga Swiatek to the brink of a second-round exit but ultimately the World No. 1 prevailed.

Osaka vs Swiatek played the potential contender for the match of the year with the Pole eking out a close victory. She pulled off a great heist from 2-5 0-30 down to earn a spot in the third round.

The Japanese has also earned her fair share of praise due to a strong showing against one of the best players of clay. Clay is not Osaka's favorite surface. She has never made it past the third round at the French Open and has never lifted a title on clay.

Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs picked Osaka as a favorite to in the US Open, provided she stays injury-free. She said there were not many players who were better than Osaka on hard courts.

"@naomiosaka is my new favorite to win the us open if she stays injury free and this confident. I just feel like at her best. There are not many better in a hard court," Rennae Stubbs wrote.

Stubbs also remained hopeful that the tennis world would soon get a peak Naomi Osaka.

"And they will have it," she said while replying to a fan.

Source- Rennae Stubbs' X (formerly Twitter) handle

Naomi Osaka: "At this point I feel pretty comfortable on clay"

2022 Miami Open - Day 3

Naomi Osaka addressed the change in her mindset regarding clay surface at a pre-tournament press conference at the 2024 French Open.

The Japanese said that even though she felt that clay was not her strong suit before this year, now she took it as a challenge. The former World No. 1 joked that she would be confused on her first day on hard court.

"I felt that way before this year, but I honestly, for me, I find that just thinking about it as another challenge. And honestly at this point I feel pretty comfortable on clay to the point where I don't know if I'll be a little confused my first day back on hard (smiling)," Naomi Osaka said.

Osaka said that clay was a fun surface, adding that she was deriving many valuable lessons from clay courts.

"But, yeah, I think clay is fun. You get to slide around. You get to see how strong you are, in and out of corners. I think for me there is a lot of really valuable lessons that I'm learning from clay court tennis," she said.

Naomi Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion, winning two titles each at the Australian Open and US Open.