In Montreal, Naomi Osaka came within inches of winning her first title since Saint Malo this year only to fall short. In the final of the Canadian Open, the local underdog, Victoria Mboko, swept the title and left Osaka in deep disappointment. It was enough for the former US Open champ to disappear for 12 minutes till the prize ceremony. And even her return came with a questionable speech, where she didn’t congratulate her young opponent on her feat. But one simply can’t steer clear of Osaka’s Grand Slam wins in the past. And Andy Roddick knows it pretty well.

During a recent episode of Served with Andy Roddick, Jon Wertheim announced that he had Osaka into round four in his brackets, even going so far as to claim that she could go on to win the tournament if she is able to “summon the level that she showed for the first 96% of her time in Montreal.” And Roddick had the same stance for Osaka. He claimed, “Naomi Osaka also coming back, like, I feel like in Canada was the first time we saw her, four or five matches in a row, and everyone’s gonna focus on the Mboko match, and she should have won it. Yeah, probably.” He went on to defend Osaka’s bad mood following her loss at the Canadian Open, claiming that she had every right to do so. But there’s more to the story. 

Roddick continued to highlight the crazy stats for Naomi Osaka. He said, “But when she’s confident in playing and when she has matches under her belt, we’ve seen what she can do in Grand Slams.” He declared that Osaka has made it past the round of 16 of a Grand Slam four times. And on each of those four occasions (2019, 2021 Australian Open and 2018, 2020 French Open), she has gone on to win the Slam.

Needless to say, there’s a high probability that Osaka might go for the win this US Open. Roddick claimed, “So, we’re taking her into round four. You’re automatically saying she might be able to win this thing. I have Osaka into round four.” 

But let’s travel back in time for a moment. This wasn’t the first time Roddick defended Naomi Osaka for her controversial stance after the Canadian Open. So, what did the analyst have to say? 

Andy Roddick defends Naomi Osaka despite her recent controversy

In a previous episode of Quick Served, Roddick pointed out that Osaka didn’t really want to expand her thoughts in the post-match speeches in Montreal. She was fresh off a bad loss, and she needed time to soak that in. Weighing in on the emotional strain that Osaka must have felt, Roddick said, “Obviously, we’re not our best selves in that situation, and if people are, great, if they’re not, they’re not. I would rather her be friendly with Vicky Mboko all the time than at Grandstand in front of a microphone. I don’t know if either is true, but Naomi [Osaka] is generally well-liked, polite, everyone likes her, and she doesn’t give a lot sometimes when she’s not ready to give a lot, and that’s fine.”

He went on to criticize tennis, as well. He continued, “No other sport do you have to go talk immediately in front of everyone and have the expectations to not only be courteous but to give everyone their flowers in an appropriate way. I don’t know, people are allowed to be p——.” Roddick provided the example of Serena Williams, who was often salty at the pressers following defeats. 

Nevertheless, Naomi Osaka tried to resolve things later on by apologizing and congratulating Victoria Mboko. And with the 2025 US Open in her crosshairs, she has definitely set her aim for the $5M prize. But do you think she can enter round four at the US Open? To find out, keep yourself updated with EssentiallySports’ live blog of the US Open.