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NEW YORK (AP) — A year ago, while on maternity leave and unsure when she would play elite tennis again, Naomi Osaka arrived at the U.S. Open to discuss mental health with Michael Phelps, and while there, she sat in the stands to watch one of Coco Gauff’s matches.
Naomi Osaka is also already considering a return to Flushing Meadows, and she’s even thinking about what she should wear. She was all dolled up from her helmet to her skirt to the bows on her back and shoes — which just so happens to be the color of this year’s “brat” summer (IYKYK) — as she played like the two-time champion and former world No. 1 star in her 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Tuesday.
“I feel like being able to be involved in (designing) my tennis outfits gives me a different kind of power, especially the U.S. Open outfits. I feel like they’re a little more flamboyant. When I put on my outfit today, I was like, ‘Ah, I hope this isn’t too over the top,'” Osaka said with a laugh. “Because I have the tutu, and then I have the pussy-bow jacket, and it’s green. I felt like everyone was staring at me.”
Osaka said another player asked for a photo, adding: “I wanted it to be a positive photo and not ‘Oh my god, look at her.’ For me, when I put this outfit on, it’s almost like a super suit, so I tried to convey that.”
She was outstanding on Tuesday, earning her first win over a top-10 opponent in more than four years.
Osaka, who won the New York Open in 2018 and 2020 and the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, faces 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko in the first-round matchup of two Grand Slam champions at the U.S. Open since Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova five years ago. Tuesday night saw another such match, as 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin defeated 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
“It means a lot to get two wins here, and I think for me this year I’ve been trying to regain my confidence,” said Osaka, who returned to the Australian Open in January for her first Grand Slam in nearly a year and a half because of mental health issues and having a baby. “This time, I had to look in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, you did really well here. There’s no reason you can’t do well again.'”
Was that a good performance? Osaka didn’t make a single unforced error in the first set and ended up with just five errors, 16 fewer than Ostapenko.
“I remember thinking, ‘I have to win this match so I can wear a different color jersey.’ It’s very important to me,” said Osaka, who is ranked 88th and received a wild-card invitation from the United States Tennis Association. “I think you’ll see a different color jersey from me next time.”
Next up on Thursday will be against 2023 French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova, who defeated Katie Wolinets of the United States 6-3, 7-5
Other women who made the second round included top seed Iga Swiatek, who trailed 6-3 in the tie-break and needed to erase three set points to win the final five points to beat Camila Rahimova 6-4 7-6 (6), having defeated Grand Slam champions Elena Rybakina and Caroline Wozniacki. Top seed Jasmine Paolini, runner-up at this year’s French Open and Wimbledon, defeated 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4, while top seed Danielle Collins’ Grand Slam singles career ended with a 1-6 7-5 6-4 loss to Caroline Doleheide in an all-American showdown. Collins, 30, will retire after this season.
Another recently retired American, Shelby Rogers, lost to No. 6 Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-3 in her final career match of the night, after four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz defeated qualifier Li Tu 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Pegula will next face Kenin.
Earlier at the Ashe Championship, top seed Jannik Sinner played his first match since the news broke that he had failed two doping tests in March. Although he got off to a slow start, the 23-year-old Italian quickly bounced back to eliminate Mackie McDonald 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.
Other seeded players who advanced included No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev, No. 7 seed Hubert Hurkacz and No. 25 seed Jack Draper, but No. 11 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 19 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime both lost, and No. 23 seed Karen Khachanov also suffered a defeat. In terms of time, Khachanov’s defeat ended in the longest match in the U.S. Open since the play-off system was established in 1970.
Dan Evans defeated Khachanov 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 in 5 hours and 35 minutes. Evans trailed 0-4 in the deciding set, which lasted 61 minutes, the shortest set they had ever played.
“When you’re a kid, you’re told to fight to the end. I mean, that’s kind of the No. 1 rule. I’ve always done that throughout my career,” Evans said. “It seemed to pay off a little bit today.”
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