WHAT HAPPENED: Naomi Osaka took the first step in putting to rest any doubts about her game during Tuesday afternoon’s first-round contest at the 2024 US Open.
Against former Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko, Osaka summoned the type of shotmaking that won her two US Open titles, dismantling the No. 10 seed’s game and cruising to a 6-3, 6-2 win to advance into the second round.
Tuesday afternoon’s top-billed contest pitted two former Grand Slam champions and former Top 5 players. In front of a packed Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd, Osaka produced a dominating service game, converting on 24 of her 30 first serves and showing exactly why she is ranked No. 1 on the WTA Tour in first serve points won this season.
Ostapenko, who reached the quarterfinals here last year and clinched two hard-court titles this season, came out swinging against Osaka, but struggled to consistently find her range on her return game. The Latvian sprayed 21 unforced errors on the match to Osaka’s five, and she faltered on serve with six double faults.
A single break of serve late in the first set gave Osaka a 5-3 advantage, which she followed with a hold at love to close out the early lead. The Japanese star then struck first in the second set to take the opening break, then notched another break to take a 5-2 lead and a chance to serve for the match.
On her third match point opportunity, a crosscourt forehand winner sealed the win and pushed her into the second round.
WHAT IT MEANS: As a wild card and current world No. 88, four-time major champion Osaka arrived in Flushing Meadows on the heels of a tumultuous 2024 season. Since returning to the Tour after a 15-month maternity leave, she’s posted a 16-15 record that included a fourth-round showing at Rome and a quarterfinal appearance in Doha. But she has yet to pass the second round at a major.
She will get the chance to break through to the third round when she next faces Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. The two women have split both previous meetings, each three-set finishes in 2020 Cincinnati and 2021 Madrid.
Looking ahead, the 2018 and 2020 US Open champion sits in the same quarter of the draw as No. 23 seed Leylah Fernandez and No. 5 seed Jasmine Paolini.
MATCH POINT: Osaka’s win marks the first time in four years that she has defeated a Top 10 opponent. In her emotional post-match interview, a tearful Osaka thanked the crowd for welcoming her back so easily after being away from the game for more than a year.
“Last year, when I was here watching Coco [Gauff] play, I so badly wanted to step back on these courts again. I didn't know if I would and I didn’t know if I could, but just to be back in this atmosphere means so much, so thank you.”
