NEW YORK — On Tuesday afternoon, the world No 88, within the U.S. Open principal draw as a wildcard, destroyed the tenth seed Jelena Ostapenko within the U.S. Open first spherical.
In concept, that appears like a shock win, however the wildcard in query is Naomi Osaka, a two-time champion right here and one of many largest attracts of the match.
Osaka could also be a pure introvert, however she has the gravity of a celebrity, at the same time as a wildcard. From her sensational outfit — which on Tuesday included a customized inexperienced tennis costume and a big inexperienced bow on her jacket — to her eye-catching energy, she had sufficient to pummel Ostapenko right into a 6-3, 6-2 defeat in simply over an hour.
Naomi Osaka produced an virtually error-free show of tennis to dispatch Jelena Ostapenko (Robert Prange / Getty Photographs)
Flushing Meadows is most related along with her two biggest triumphs. She gained the U.S. Open title right here in 2018 and 2020, beating Serena Williams within the first ultimate on a famously tempestuous event — by way of no fault of Osaka’s — to announce herself as a star. However three years in the past, it was the positioning of a breaking level. She threw her racket on a number of events and obtained a code violation for firing a ball into the group throughout an excruciating defeat to Canada’s Leylah Fernandez. When requested about what occurred, she mentioned: “I’m not likely positive why.”
“Not too long ago, I really feel very anxious when issues don’t go my method,” she mentioned.
Within the three years since, throughout which Osaka has continued to transcend tennis for her openness to discussing its impression on her psychological well being, Osaka had not gained a match on the Billie Jean King Nationwide Tennis Heart.
She returned to the game in late December after giving start to her daughter, Shai, and upon beating Ostapenko she regarded to the sky as tears flowed, overcome by the emotion of her first victory in New York since 2021. There was lots to course of, however what truly set Osaka off went again to her childhood.
“It was a mixture of a number of various things,” she mentioned after her victory.
“I grew up right here, so simply seeing children, after which remembering my daughter, but additionally seeing children coming and watching me play… And simply remembering that I used to be a child, I suppose a very long time in the past, made me very emotional,” Osaka mentioned.
Her thoughts additionally went again to this time final yr when along with her daughter not even two months outdated, Osaka watched on from the stands as Coco Gauff acquired on her solution to profitable the title. Osaka didn’t know then whether or not she may reclaim the extent that made her a champion right here twice, took her to world No 1, and introduced her two extra Grand Slam titles, each in Australia.
That feeling has carried on all through a lot of 2024, which noticed her start her comeback after 15 months away from the tour on New 12 months’s Eve. The primary half of the season included some promising outcomes, together with a barnstorming French Open conflict with world No 1 Iga Swiatek, however the previous few months have been powerful. They’ve prompted introspection.
After a disappointing loss within the Cincinnati qualifiers to Ashlyn Krueger, Osaka once more opened up.
“My largest challenge at present isn’t losses, although, my largest challenge is that I don’t really feel like I’m in my physique.”
Osaka, laying down on Arthur Ashe after profitable the title in 2020, has opened up about her struggles in returning to tennis (Matthew Stockman / Getty Photographs)
It was a startling admission and maybe mirrored the strain Osaka was feeling. All year long, the message from these near her had been that the previous world No 1 ought to be judged not on the promise of the clay and grass swings, through which she discovered her ft, however in the course of the summer season hard-court season.
On her favorite floor, Osaka would come alive.
“It’s virtually, like, you could have a deadline and also you’re crunching at midnight to attempt to make it,” Osaka mentioned on Tuesday in regards to the narrowing window she has to ship on laborious courts this yr. Till Tuesday, her finest particular person efficiency had remained that beautiful evening match on the French Open, the place she held a match level towards Swiatek. Within the two largest hard-court occasions forward of the U.S. Open, Osaka misplaced within the second spherical on the Canadian Open after which didn’t qualify for Cincinnati.
Even giving herself the grace of returning to the tour after giving start, Osaka was impatient and anxious. She likened her discomfort on courtroom to how she had felt basically postpartum. Determined to really feel herself once more in competitors, on Tuesday that feeling returned.
The Louis Armstrong Stadium fizzed with anticipation after Osaka’s two-year absence. A hanging matchup towards Ostapenko, a top-10 participant who can come alive on the most important events — and has an unbeaten report towards Swiatek — solely added to the sensation that this match, like Osaka and Swiatek’s second-round encounter in Paris, would befit a late-stage event somewhat than an opener. Osaka, world No 88 or not, retains the gravity of all she has carried out within the sport irrespective of her rating.
The match began evenly, however from the second Osaka broke at 4-3 within the first set, the end result was by no means doubtful. She began to hit her forehand with growing freedom and venom; Ostapenko, a former French Open champion, had no reply.
GO DEEPER
How ought to a world No 1 be? Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka have an thought
Osaka celebrated factors with loud “come ons” and fist pumps and the group matched her noise and vitality. In what was an impressive exhibition of managed aggression, she didn’t lose her serve all through and banged down 9 aces to safe a primary win over a top-10 opponent for greater than 4 years. After Osaka had clinched the victory with a cross-court forehand winner, she sat down and coated her face with a towel because the tears poured out.
“Simply seeing the stadium actually full, it meant lots as a result of I used to be, like, ‘Oh, I hope individuals come watch me play,’” she mentioned afterwards.
She adopted up that piece of disarming modesty by laying down the gauntlet in essentially the most softly spoken and understated method conceivable.
“I really feel like for me, this courtroom is my dwelling — it offers me a lot extra confidence.”
She additionally had additional motivation to beat Ostapenko on Tuesday, realizing that if she did, she would get the prospect to put on the opposite outfit she had prepared for the match. “That was essential to me,” Osaka mentioned with a smile.
The place this run will lead is in query. Osaka subsequent faces final yr’s semifinalist Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, with one other alternative for an announcement victory. Earlier than all of that, she will be able to soak in a win towards a top-tier opponent and the U.S. Open can as soon as once more revel within the gravitational pull of a tennis celebrity.
(Prime picture: Robert Prange/Getty Photographs)
