Naomi Osaka's coach Patrick Mouratoglou pens encouraging message for Japanese after she survives Miami Open thriller

Naomi Osaka's coach Patrick Mouratoglou has applauded her effort in beating Hailey Baptiste at the Miami Open. The Japanese former No. 1 came through a hard-fought contest and won 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4 to book her place in the tournament's last 16.

Osaka's victory over Baptiste took a grueling two hours and fifty-nine minutes to complete and their match is the longest women's match so far in Miami. Baptiste, the World No. 98 was up by a break in the third set but the Japanese bounced back to come out on top.

It was a feisty performance from the four-time Major champion after an early season beset by injuries and off-court issues. Her coach Mouratoglou could barely conceal his joy when he shared his congratulations on Instagram, lauding his charge for her fighting spirit.

"What a fight! This is what tennis is all about. Going through ups and downs, digging deep when it gets tough, accepting one's emotions and dealing with them and most of all, problem-solving. Cannot be prouder of your effort today," Mouratoglou wrote.

Mouratoglou is a French coach, commentator, and pundit who founded the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in 1996. He's taken many great players under his wing and has previously coached the likes of Serena Williams, Simona Halep and Holger Rune, among others.

Despite a difficult start to 2025, Naomi Osaka is beginning to show her best form

Miami Open Presented by Itau 2025 - Day 5 - Source: Getty

After an abdominal strain saw Naomi Osaka retire from her third-round match at the Australian Open against Belinda Bencic, she withdrew from the Abu Dhabi Open to rest the abdominal strain that was hampering her movement. She reappeared at Indian Wells but was beaten in the first round by World No. 54 Camila Osorio.

Having now strung three wins together in Miami, 27-year-old Osaka feels that even if she's not playing her best tennis, she has the experience and know-how to fight through difficult patches. After the Baptiste win she told her post-match interview, as reported by wtatennis.com:

“This year I’ve played already a couple scrappy matches,” Naomi Osaka said. “I think the fight kind of got me over it. Then I realized, like, you need to play a lot of matches like that to be I guess one of the great ones. So I’m hoping that I can continue.”

In the next round, Naomi Osaka will face the No. 6 seed Jasmine Paolini, in what will be the very first encounter between the two. Whoever wins, will face either third seed Coco Gauff or Magda Linette in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open.