Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka told reporters at a press conference that she found World No.5 Daniil Medvedev "interesting" after defeating Sofia Kenin at the Brisbane Open. The Russian, who reached the US Open final last year before losing to Rafael Nadal, tweeted to Osaka, saying that he didn't know about being interesting, but he would be grateful for some tips to win the tournament. Naomi Osaka had won the US Open in 2018, defeating Serena Williams in the final.
Journalist Ben Rothenberg had asked Osaka at the presser after her match on Thursday: "I saw you re-tweeted Medvedev's shot already. You're still a big fan of his?"
Osaka had tweeted a video of Medvedev hitting a cross-court winner.
"Yeah, he's very interesting to me. I've never talked to him in real life, but just like the things that I see on the internet about him," she said, before asking the journalist if he had interviewed the Russian.
The journalist replied in the affirmative, when the Japanese star asked him "Is he interesting?"
"Yeah," came the prompt reply to which Osaka said "He seems, yeah".
"He is an interesting guy. You should meet. You have lots of opportunities. You're in the same place all the time," Rothenberg told Osaka.
"Yeah, I don't really talk to people, Ben. I don't know what to tell you," she said.
After Rothenberg shared a screenshot of the conversation between the two, Medvedev retweeted it tagging Naomi Osaka.
"....@naomiosaka not sure I am interesting but I would love some tips as how to actually win the @usopen!" he tweeted.
Medvedev is unbeaten this season and will next play the ATP Cup semi-final against Serbia.