Japan’s Naomi Osaka reacts after her victory over Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko during the first round of the US Open tennis championship on August 27, 2024 in New York.
11:01 JST, August 28, 2024
NEW YORK (AP) — A year ago, still on maternity leave and still unsure when she would play elite tennis again, Naomi Osaka visited the U.S. Open to talk to Michael Phelps about mental health. While at the venue, she sat in the stands to watch one of Coco Gauff’s matches.
Osaka had also been thinking about getting back on a court in Flushing Meadows, so much so that she was mulling over what she would wear to compete. And there she was on Tuesday at Louis Armstrong Stadium, where she defeated No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 while decked out, from her visor to her dress to the bows on her back and tied to her shoes, in lime green — the color of this “Brat” summer, coincidentally (IYKYK) — and playing like a two-time champion at that venue and a former No. 1 star.
I feel like by participating in (designing) my tennis outfits, I get a different power, I would say, especially the US Open outfits. I feel like they’re a little bit more flamboyant. When I put my outfit on today, I was like, ‘Ah, I hope this isn’t too much,’” Osaka 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 photo (and) not like, ‘Oh my God, look at her.’ For me, when I put the outfit on, it’s almost like a super suit, so I try to channel that.”
On Tuesday, she did well enough to earn her first win against a top 10 opponent in more than four years.
Osaka won titles in New York in 2018 and 2020 and two trophies at the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021. Her match against Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open winner, marked the first time two former major champions faced off in the opening round of the US Open since Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova five years ago.
Two wins here mean a lot, and I think I’ve struggled with confidence all year, said Osaka, who returned to action in January at the Australian Open, her first Grand Slam appearance in nearly 1 1/2 years because of mental health breaks and time away to have a baby. “This time around, it forces me to look in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, you did really well here. There’s no reason why you can’t do well again.'”
How’s that for a good performance? Osaka didn’t make a single unforced error in the first set and finished with just five, 16 fewer than Ostapenko.
I remember thinking, ‘I have to win this match so I can wear my other color.’ That was really important to me, said Osaka, who is ranked 88th and received a wild-card invitation from the US Tennis Association. “I think next time you’ll see my other color.”
Next up is on Thursday against Karolina Muchova, the 2023 French Open runner-up, who won 6-3, 7-5 against Katie Volynets from the US.
Other women who advanced to the second round included No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who got past Kamilla Rakhimova 6-4, 7-6 (6) by winning the last five points after she had to save a trio of set points to trail 6-3 in the tiebreaker, and she advanced 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 match. The 30-year-old Collins will retire after this season.
Another American who recently announced her retirement, Shelby Rogers, was scheduled to face No. 6 Jessica Pegula in the evening, after four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz took on qualifier Li Tu at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Earlier in Ashe, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner played his first match since news broke that he had been cleared in a doping case that arose from two failed tests in March. Although he started slowly, the 23-year-old Italian quickly recovered to beat Mackie McDonald 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.
Other seeded men who advanced included No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz and No. 25 Jack Draper, but No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 19 Felix Auger-Aliassime both lost, as did No. 23 Karen Khachanov, who finished on the wrong end of the longest US Open match, in terms of time, since the introduction of tiebreakers in 1970.
Dan Evans edged past Khachanov 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 in 5 hours and 35 minutes. The final set, in which Evans trailed 4-0, itself lasted 61 minutes — and was the shortest set they played.
