Nicknames are a handy tool in Naomi Osaka’s bag of endearing quirks.
It may have only been a month since the experienced Wim Fissette joined her team, but already the Japanese world No.4 has a moniker for him: “Fissetty.”
Osaka explains it’s really just a simple play on the Belgian’s surname.
But it points to a level of comfort the highly intellectual 22-year-old has already established with her new mentor.
“Yeah, I like to give people nicknames because his name’s actually very interesting,” the Brisbane International’s No.3 seed grins. “It’s, like, Wim Fissette. It’s just nice, like, it rolls off the tongue.”
Not that the nickname should be perceived as any lack of respect for authority.
“I respect all the things that he says,” Osaka said. “And I know that he’s worked with a lot of top players and I feel like I’m learning from everything that he says.
ICYMI: No.3 seed @naomiosaka beat world No.23 Maria Sakkari 6-2 6-7(4) 6-3 Tuesday.
“I’m really happy with how I served. I had to retire from my last match because of my shoulder… but I hit 16 aces, so that’s pretty good for me”https://t.co/CLJar4e9n8 #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/rg3rnD6H9T
— #BrisbaneTennis (@BrisbaneTennis) January 7, 2020
“So it’s kind of tough because this is the first tournament and in a way, I expect a lot because I want to pick up from where I left off, minus the [shoulder] injury part.”
Fissette, or “Fissetty”, already had a who’s who of Grand Slam champions on his resume having guided Kim Clijsters and Angelique Kerber to major success, while he had also coached the likes of Simona Halep, Victoria Azarenka, and Petra Kvitova.
While working with Azarenka throughout 2019, he was approached about joining Osaka’s team late in the season, and only accepted the offer with Azarenka’s approval.
“She’s an amazing player with a lot of potential and the more I get to know her the more I believe in her,” Fissette said of Osaka.
“I got contacted somewhere after US Open where they asked me if there was a chance and what my plans were for the future. Obviously I was working with Victoria and always had the best connection with Vika.
“Vika wanted to have some time to think about her future. I always enjoyed working with her but only of course if we could reach our goals, if we could play again for the titles.
“A few weeks later she called me and said she can’t play in January and wasn’t sure when she could start again. She didn’t want to take that opportunity away from me.”
Rehabilitating Osaka’s shoulder injury from last season would be a priority and with that has come Fissette’s goal to work more on developing his charge’s serve as her chief weapon.
But most important was the need to get to know Osaka and to earn her trust.
“Speaking to her father he told me a lot of things about her and that’s very useful,” Fissette said. “We have to keep going the same direction, keep making improvements there, keep developing the game.
“The goal must be to become No.1 in the world again, to win a grand slam or slams [in 2020].
“We’ll try to win every tournament we play. That should be the goal with a player of her level I think.”
Osaka is on the same page and her undeniable self-belief already gives “Fissetty” cause for optimism.
“My goal this year? I think just to try as hard as I can every match, because for me I feel like when I do that I somehow end up winning the match, no matter – oh, that sounds really arrogant – I put myself in a position to win the match,” Osaka said.
“For me I feel like all I need is like a chance or a couple of chances.”