Naomi Osaka reveals bizarre new love for classic band Jamiroquai who are helping her cope with mental health battle
NAOMI OSAKA has Virtual Insanity on her mind as she chases a first title since revealing mental health demons.
The Japan star will face Poland’s Iga Swiatek in the Miami Open final in Florida.
Osaka – ranked 77th in the world – is eyeing her first success since lifting the 2021 Australian Open.
It was last summer that the 24-year-old first mentioned her issues off-court and how she was seeking help.
And randomly her music playlist includes songs from the award-winning UK funk band Jamiroquai, who are fronted by popular showman Jay Kay.
Osaka said: “My coach Wim Fissette has been recommending me some songs. And there is this guy that he recommended me.
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“His name is Jamiroquai. There is this really good song called Virtual Insanity.
“Wim played it in the car and I was like, Oh, that’s really good.”
Osaka, who took time off tennis last year, added: “I wear headphones on court because it gives me an excuse to not interact with someone if I don’t want to!
“That sounds bad. I don’t really know a lot of people.
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“So I either tend to look on the ground, or if I look forward, I have to put my headphones on – it’s just like this barrier thing that I do.
“It’s also a comfort thing for me because I actually do listen to music when I’m walking around. For me, for some reason, it sets a tone.
“I have a play list that’s called ‘Sad’. It’s a bunch of songs that the melodies are kind of slow and affects my mood a little bit.”
Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev has missed out on the chance to overtake Novak Djokovic as world No.1 after losing to defending champion Hubert Hurkacz in the Miami Open quarter-finals.
After struggling with the hot and humid conditions, the Russian said: “I was feeling super dizzy, tired, and there was this long game where I couldn’t serve any more.
“In the locker room I was cramping quite a lot.
“I was sitting down, really tired, and then suddenly every muscle just went cramp, cramp, cramp, cramp. I was like a fish on the sofa.”