Patrick Mouratoglou believes Naomi Osaka\u2019s competitive nature was \u2018missing\u2019 during their partnership in his first interview since their coaching split.<\/p>\n
Acclaimed coach Mouratoglou and four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka parted ways at the end of July<\/a>,\u00a0following a 10-month partnership\u00a0which started at the China Open last Autumn.<\/p>\n Under Mouratoglou\u2019s guidance, Osaka reached her first WTA final in almost three years at the Auckland Open in January<\/a>, and also triumphed at the WTA 125 event in Saint-Malo in May<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, the former world No 1 struggled to push on at the biggest events, falling in the opening round of the French Open this spring and suffering a painful three-set defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round of Wimbledon.<\/p>\n Osaka and Mouratoglou parted ways on good terms, and the former US Open and Australian Open champion is now working with Tomasz Wiktorowski<\/a>, who previously coached Iga Swiatek.<\/p>\n The partnership between Osaka and Wiktorowski is off to a flying start, with the 28-year-old into the semi-final of the Canadian Open, dispatching 10th seed Elina Svitolina in Tuesday\u2019s quarter-final<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tennis News<\/p>\n Canadian Open WTA Rankings Winners & Losers: Mboko & Tauson career-highs, Osaka top 30<\/a><\/p>\n Clara Tauson\u2019s emotional win \u2013 \u2018Two days ago, my grandfather unfortunately passed away\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n The world No 49 is set to soar back into the top 30 of the WTA Rankings and looks primed to be seeded at the US Open, where she lifted the title in 2018 and 2020.<\/p>\n Mouratoglou, best known for his time working with Serena Williams, is yet to start working with a new player in the aftermath of his split with Osaka.<\/p>\n However, in a new interview with CNN<\/a>, the Frenchman claimed that he and Osaka \u201cdidn\u2019t solve\u201d the issue of her match competitiveness during their time together.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s doing well for the moment in Montreal. Let\u2019s hope she\u2019s going to go all the way,\u201d Mouratoglou. \u201cI think her level of tennis is here.<\/p>\n \u201cPhysically, she is ready, and she\u2019s a great competitor, she\u2019s a great champion. So at some point, it\u2019s going to work out. I have no doubt about it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe thing that was missing was the competitiveness. I think she\u2019s a great competitor, but at that time she was not as good as a competitor as I think [she] can be and she has been in the past. And this is the thing that we didn\u2019t solve.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish we could have more time to solve it. But we didn\u2019t, that\u2019s life, and I have no regrets on that because that\u2019s the rule when you work in high level.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, time is important, and you have to solve the problems fast. So I think that was the key that was missing.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when we stopped, I said to her: \u2018I mean, I think you\u2019re ready. If you find the person that will help you get back your efficiency during the matches, I think you\u2019re ready to do great results right now, and I hope it\u2019s going to happen very soon.’\u201d<\/p>\n Competitiveness does not appear to have been an issue for Osaka at the Canadian Open, with the former world No 1 into her first semi-final at the WTA 1000 event.<\/p>\n The Japanese rallied from a set down and saved two match points to beat 13th seed Liudmilla Samsonova in round two, and has not dropped a set since then.<\/p>\n After beating 22nd seed Jelena Ostapenko in round three, Osaka needed just 49 minutes to thrash Anastasija Sevastova in the fourth round<\/a> before her comprehensive win over Svitolina.<\/p>\n Osaka will face Clara Tauson in Wednesday\u2019s semi-final, with the winner facing Elena Rybakina or Victoria Mboko in the final.<\/p>\n