Greek food apparently inspired Naomi Osaka in her quest to reach the Australian Open final on Thursday, beating Serena Williams 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinal.
The Japanese tennis player shared an interesting anecdote during her post-match interview.
Osaka spoke about having eaten Greek food on Wednesday, her day off, and then finding out after she slept that Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas had defeated Rafael Nadal in an epic five-setter.
“It’s super-weird. For the past three weeks I’ve been eating Japanese food on the day before my match,” she related.
Greek food after Tsitsipas win
“And yesterday, I decided to eat Greek food. So I went to sleep, and I wake up, and Tsitsi had beaten Nadal.
“I’m like, ooh, maybe this is a sign.”
After delivering on court, Osaka delivers at the microphone.
Osaka: "Yesterday I decided to eat Greek food. And then when I woke up, Tsitsi beat Nadal, so maybe this is a sign!"
I think Stef will be buying Osaka's dinner tomorrow, and we know what the cuisine will be.#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/hDhs4mXpLE
— The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) February 18, 2021
Jokingly, Osaka mentioned maybe her noshing on Greek cuisine played its part in Tsitsipas outlasting Nadal and herself beating Williams.
With the crowds laughing over her story, Osaka added that perhaps she should keep eating Greek food to keep the winning going.
Tsitsipas replied to the video, uploaded on the official Twitter account of the Australian Open, showing Osaka’s comment about Greek food.
— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@steftsitsipas) February 18, 2021
Tsitsipas wins epic battle
Tsitsipas won a heroic battle against Spain’s Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Having lost the first two sets 3-6, 2-6, the Greek champion made an astonishing comeback, winning the next two sets 7-6, 6-4.
The decider was won by Tsitsipas with a score of 7-5.
The young Greek player became only the second player to recover from two sets down to beat Nadal at a Grand Slam.
“No words to describe feeling”
Speaking after the game, which lasted more than four hours, Tsitsipas said:
“I have no words to describe what went on the court. It’s an unbelievable feeling to play at such a level.
“I started very nervously, I don’t know what happened after the third set, I flew like a little bird. Everything worked.
“The emotions are indescribable. I focused on staying calm and holding my nerves. I would also give part of my victory by being calm with my mood. I have been working on trying to keep emotions to myself.”
Wait. The thinker @steftsitsipas without….thoughts? 🧘♂️
Mark this day on the calendar 😉#AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/JqbjA5NdW2
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 17, 2021
Medvedev stands between Tsitsipas and the final
Tsitsipas will meet fourth seeded Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal on Friday.
It will be a tough matchup for Tsitsipas in a bid to better his 1-5 win-loss record in their ATP Head2Head.
Medvedev will come into their Friday semi-final relatively fresher after cooling off the red-hot Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 during the day match.
“Medvedev is going to be (a) difficult task,” Tsitsipas said.
“I played him last year at the Nitto (ATP Finals). It was a good match from my side. He’s in very good shape, playing good tennis, playing accurate, playing simple,” he added.
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