“He has, like, a personal thing that he had to go do,” she said.
“But he told me about it beforehand.
“It wasn’t like he just dipped out on me.”
Osaka still had plenty of support from her team, and she talked about who stepped in to back her up.
“That’s Matias [Zukas]. He’s my hitting partner,” she said.
“He takes on the role of coach when Tomasz [Wiktorowski] isn’t there.”
She also spoke about how important Wiktorowski is when asked how she goes about preparing for a player she hasn’t faced before, such as Lys.
“Honestly, I kind of leave that up to my coach,” said Osaka.
“I have a pretty big talk with him before.
She also shared her confidence coming into the match, feeling good after Madrid despite some time having passed since then. She believes she can keep improving and building on her current form. This confidence could serve her well in Rome and looking ahead to Roland Garros.
Liam Broady backs Naomi Osaka after her win over Eva Lys
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, British tennis player Liam Broady gave his thoughts on Osaka’s victory.
“What a match that was, it was a titanic battle of wills,” he said.
“Eva Lys did herself proud there. I actually thought she played very well.”
“Made such a match out of it, where many players would have gone away after that first set with the way [Naomi] Osaka was playing.”
Broady is backing Osaka to go far in Rome, but her path won’t be easy. Next up for the Japanese star is Diana Shnaider of Russia in the third round.
If she gets through that, there’s a good chance she’ll face Iga Swiatek in the last 16. Swiatek hasn’t lost to Osaka since 2019 and leads their head-to-head 2-1.
But if Osaka can pull off an upset against Swiatek, she could be looking at matches against Jessica Pegula in the quarters, Elena Rybakina in the semis, and possibly Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
The road ahead looks tough for Osaka if she wants to claim her first WTA title on clay. But given her form this season, there’s every reason to believe she could make some noise in Rome.