Naomi Osaka has lamented having a poor attitude her upset semi-final loss to world No.27 Lesia Tsurenko at the Brisbane International.
The US Open champion was dominated by the unseeded Ukranian, making 26 unforced errors to lose 6-2 6-4 in 66 minutes at Pat Rafter Arena on Saturday.
“If I’m being really frank, I just feel like I had like the worst attitude today,” Osaka said.
The Japanese second seed was off her game from the start, broken in the first game and again at 4-2 despite fighting back from 15-40.
Osaka, ranked fifth in the world, sunk further when she doubled-faulted to hand Tsurenko the advantage at the beginning of the second.
Tsurenko brought up two match points at 5-3, but was held off when her 21-year-old opponent hit three aces and a drop-shot winner to hold.
Any hopes of Osaka repeating her quarter-final performance when she fought back from a set down against eighth-seeded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova were snuffed out in the next game.
Osaka had a chance to fight her way back into the match with the second set at 3-2, showing visible frustration when she failed to take advantage of two break points.
“I feel like I didn’t really know how to cope with not playing well,” she said.
“I was sulking a little bit and like there are moments that I tried not to do that.
“But then the ball wouldn’t go in and then I would go back to being like childish and stuff.
“So I think like that was sort of my main problem today.”
While the performance may not boost her confidence ahead of the Australian Open in just over a week, Osaka was seeing it as far from a sign of vulnerability.
“I feel like in a way that this experience for me is better than winning the tournament,” she said.
“This helpless feeling I have, I think today I learned sort of what I have to do to not fix it, but what I can do to like improve the situation.
“I feel like today was a very valuable lesson.”
Tsurenko ultimately blasted 20 winners to go one better than her semi-final appearance in Brisbane in 2013.
She will face former champion Karolina Pliskova or 34th ranked Donna Vekic in the final on Sunday as she bids for a fifth WTA title.
