Aug 27, 2024, 02:41 PM ET
NEW YORK — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek fought through a tough first-round match at the US Open on Tuesday, and two-time champion Naomi Osaka made an impressive return to the tournament by beating No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 in a rare first-round clash between former major winners.
Osaka, the 2018 and 2020 champion in Flushing Meadows, needed only 64 minutes to oust Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion.
It was the kind of performance that was standard from Osaka when she reached No. 1 in the rankings and won four Grand Slam titles from 2018 to 2021.
But she had missed large gaps of time since, first for mental health breaks then after giving birth, and just this month posted on social media about the struggles of not playing as well as she used to after failing to qualify for the tournament in Cincinnati.
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Osaka smashed 19 winners against only five unforced errors Tuesday and said the adoring New York crowd fueled her from the moment she stepped out on the court.
“I was trying not to cry when I was walking out,” Osaka said. “I remember last year I was watching Coco [Gauff] play and I so badly wanted to step on these courts again and I didn’t know if I could.”
Her emotional return was nearly derailed by an uncooperative 1-year-old.
“Last night, my daughter didn’t want to go to sleep on her bedtime so I had to hold her for quite a while,” Osaka said. “I was like, oh wow, she really picked the perfect day not to go to sleep.”
Osaka’s win Tuesday was her first over a WTA top-10 player in more than four years, since she defeated No. 9 Kiki Bertens in the quarterfinals at Brisbane in 2020.
She wore a Kobe Bryant jersey to her postmatch news conference and recalled the time the Los Angeles Lakers legend came to watch her play at Louis Armstrong Stadium here five years ago.
“I honestly remember being a little bit in disbelief that he was coming specifically to watch my match,” she said. “Just to feel that support was unreal. I think for me I always wear Kobe jerseys after matches and practices because I feel like a little bit, like, I can kind of keep his spirit with me.”
For Tuesday’s match, Osaka was decked out — from her visor to her dress to the bows on her back and attached to her shoes — in lime green.
Osaka def. (10) Ostapenko: 6-3, 6-2
• Osaka’s 1st WTA top-10 win since January 2020 when she defeated No. 9 Kiki Bertens in the quarterfinals at Brisbane
• 13th career WTA top-10 win; all of them have come on hard court (0-8 vs. WTA top 10 away from hard court)
• 19 winners with 5 unforced errors (did not commit unforced error in opening set)
• Finished with 9 aces and didn’t drop any of her 9 service games
• Faces Karolina Muchova in 2nd round (split 2 previous meetings with last coming at 2021 Madrid on clay, which Muchova won)
— ESPN Stats & Information
“I feel like being able to be a part of [designing] my tennis outfits gives me, I would say, a different strength, especially the US Open outfits. I feel like they are a little bit more flamboyant. When I was putting on my outfit today, I was, like, ‘Ah, I hope this isn’t too much,'” she said with a smile. “Because I had the tutu, and then I had the bow jacket and it was green. I feel like everyone was staring at me.”
Another player asked for a photo, Osaka said, adding: “I hope it was a positive picture [and] it wasn’t, like, ‘Oh, my God, look at her.’ For me, when I put on the outfit, it’s almost like a super suit, so I try to channel that.”
Her matchup against Ostapenko marked the first time two past major champs faced off in the opening round at the US Open since Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova five years ago.
“Having two wins here means a lot, and I think for me, I’ve been struggling with confidence throughout the year,” said Osaka, who returned to action at the Australian Open in January, her first Grand Slam appearance in nearly 1½ years. “This time now forces me to look in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, you’ve done really well here. There’s no reason why you can’t do well again.'”
Osaka did not make a single unforced error in the first set and finished with only five, 16 fewer than Ostapenko.
“I do remember thinking, ‘I need to win this match so I can wear my other color.’ That was very important to me,” said Osaka, who is ranked 88th and received a wild-card invitation from the United States Tennis Association. “I guess you’ll see my other color next time.”
Next time will be Thursday against 2023 French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova, a 6-3, 7-5 winner against Katie Volynets of the U.S.
Swiatek had a more difficult time in her match than Osaka, edging Kamilla Rakhimova 6-4, 7-6 (6) despite 41 unforced errors. The 2022 champion was one point from being forced to a third set when Rakhimova, who was added to the main draw as a lucky loser after another player pulled out injured, took a 6-3 lead in the tiebreaker.
Naomi Osaka smashed 19 winners against only five unforced errors Tuesday versus No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko, flashing the dominance that saw her reach No. 1 in the rankings and win four Grand Slam titles from 2018 to 2021. Seth Wenig/AP
But Swiatek recovered and won the next five points, finishing the match when her opponent missed a backhand.
“At the beginning [I felt] good, but then I got a little bit tight and my opponent used it, so I was trying to get back to my game,” Swiatek said in her postmatch on-court interview. “I’ve just been trying to adjust to the courts, haven’t practiced a lot, so this time I just wanted to feel how it is on Arthur Ashe [Stadium]. … I’m pretty sure day by day I am going to get more and more rhythm.”
Swiatek improved to 22-1 in first-round matches at Grand Slams, including 6-0 at the US Open. She will next face Ena Shibahara, a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (6) winner over Daria Saville.
Other women moving into the second round included past major champions Elena Rybakina and Caroline Wozniacki. But No. 11 Danielle Collins‘ Grand Slam singles career ended with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 loss to Caroline Dolehide in an all-American matchup. The 30-year-old Collins is retiring after this season.
Another American who recently announced her retirement, Shelby Rogers, was scheduled to face No. 6 Jessica Pegula in the evening.
ESPN Stats & Information, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
