Osaka recounts being shut down by her mom during Melbourne win

Naomi Osaka uses a plethora of quirky strategies when playing to win tennis' biggest tournaments, including slapping her leg, covering her head with a towel and, one that's come to the forefront more recently: speaking success into existence.

"For me, I've always been a believer of: You have to say it for it to come true, and you have to believe it with all of your heart," she said in her pre-Roland Garros press conference.

Giving an example, she recounted the time when, early in the Australian Open, she invited her mom to fly down to watch her "win this tournament"—only to be savagely shut down.

"I called my mom in like the second round, and I was like, 'Do you wanna come to Australia? Because I'm gonna win this tournament.'"

"She was like, 'No,'" Osaka said.

Osaka was pushed to the brink of elimination in the first round of Roland Garros, on Tuesday, but she found her form just in time to pull off the comeback win, 0-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Perhaps she was helped by, before the tournament, stating her intention to win it, out loud and on the record.

"Roland Garros—that's, for me, what I'm dreaming about right now," Osaka said. "I haven't won Wimbledon yet, either. It would be really cool to win everything in one year."

She then smiled at the unintentional boldness of saying that aloud.

Osaka is set to face Victoria Azarenka in the second round.

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