Osaka's confidence 'high' after fashionably blinding win in best-ever Wimbledon run

[p]Widely regarded as one of tennis's top ‌fashion trailblazers, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/osaka-naomi/MDM4BKiA/"]Osaka[/a] has attracted plenty of attention for eye-catching dresses in the first week, but the four-times Grand ‌Slam champion from Japan is also letting her tennis take the spotlight.[/p][p]Osaka, however, said ‌she would be perfectly fine if her attire continued to be the main talking point.[/p][p][b]"I'd actually ‌prefer to talk about my clothes," [/b]Osaka said in her press conference.[/p][p][b]"In some ways ‌I feel I'm a lot more equipped to talk about my clothes than to talk about my tennis. It's strange, because I've been playing tennis for 20-something years. Some days I don't feel like an expert on ‌it.[/b][/p][p][b]"If we were to talk about my outfit, I feel ⁠I could keep going on and on ‌and on. I find it really fun that people care and are doing deep dives into the ​fabric and the making-of stories. I don't mind."[/b][/p][h2]Variation of 'Kill Bill' kimono[/h2][p]After shedding another variation of her "Kill Bill" kimono walk-on ensemble - which this time was a flower-patterned robe - ​the 14th seed mixed power with precision to see off [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kasatkina-daria/GU42elks/"]Kasatkina[/a] and continue her best run at the All England Club.[/p][p][b]"The longer I'm in the tournament, the more stories I can ⁠tell with my outfits anyways, ​because I like to mix and match," [/b]Osaka added.[/p][embed guid="eb020c8f-ee43-4329-a59a-fa2be878919a" url="https://x.com/Wimbledon/status/2071617392837271975?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"Even tennis-wise, I feel really good now. I feel pretty confident. I feel I'm playing really well. There's only so many tennis questions you can answer, you know? It's like the clothing questions are endless a little bit."[/b][/p][p]The 28-year-old fired ‌a backhand winner to break Russian-born Kasatkina in the second game and then backed it up with a deep forehand to claim a double break as she raced through the first set on a sun-drenched Court One.[/p][p][b]"I've actually never won on this court, so I'm really glad to have made a really good memory here,"[/b] Osaka said on court earlier to loud applause.[/p][p][b]"I felt confident, and she played good as well, so I'm happy with the result today."[/b][/p][h2]Battle mode after breezy start[/h2][p]Osaka, who reached her first tour-level grass court final at Bad Homburg before retiring injured, showed she could be a force in the second week of Wimbledon ‌as she brawled after squandering an early lead in the second set to raise two ​match points.[/p][infobox id="e4d8200d-597f-48d7-83c2-d394f1217426" /][p]She finished the second one in style to book what promises to be ‌an intriguing clash with world number one [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Aryna Sabalenka[/a] or former French Open champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ostapenko-jelena/Gloq9MUN/"]Jelena Ostapenko[/a] for a spot in the quarter-finals.[/p][p][b]"My confidence is pretty high," [/b]Osaka added.[/p][p][b]"I know what my grasscourt tennis looks like. It gives me a pretty stable mindset going into the match no matter who I play.[/b][/p][p][b]"I also don't really have as many ⁠doubts as I did on clay courts. ⁠Maybe it would be a little bit ‌better for me on grass. But I'm not so sure."[/b][/p]