NEW YORK — On Tuesday afternoon, the world No 88, within the U.S. Open primary draw as a wildcard, destroyed the tenth seed Jelena Ostapenko within the U.S. Open first spherical.
In idea, that seems 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, whilst a wildcard. From her sensational outfit — which on Tuesday included a customized inexperienced tennis gown 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.
Flushing Meadows is most related along with her two best triumphs. She received 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 acquired 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.”
“Lately, 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 received a match on the Billie Jean King Nationwide Tennis Heart.
She returned to the game in late December after giving beginning 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 rather a lot to course of, however what really set Osaka off went again to her childhood.
“It was a mix of lots of various things,” she mentioned after her victory.
“I grew up right here, so simply seeing youngsters, after which remembering my daughter, but additionally seeing youngsters 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Her thoughts additionally went again to this time final yr when along with her daughter not even two months outdated, Osaka watched on from the stands as Coco Gauff obtained on her approach to successful the title. Osaka didn’t know then whether or not she might 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 couple of months have been robust. They’ve prompted introspection.
After a disappointing loss within the Cincinnati qualifiers to Ashlyn Krueger, Osaka once more opened up.
“My largest difficulty at the moment isn’t losses, although, my largest difficulty is that I don’t really feel like I’m in my physique.”
It was a startling admission and maybe mirrored the stress Osaka was feeling. All year long, the message from these near her had been that the previous world No 1 needs to be judged not on the promise of the clay and grass swings, wherein she discovered her toes, however in the course of the summer season hard-court season.
On her favorite floor, Osaka would come alive.
“It’s nearly, 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 onerous courts this yr. Till Tuesday, her finest particular person efficiency had remained that gorgeous 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 did not qualify for Cincinnati.
Even giving herself the grace of returning to the tour after giving beginning, Osaka was impatient and anxious. She likened her discomfort on courtroom to how she had felt usually 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 putting matchup towards Ostapenko, a top-10 participant who can come alive on the largest 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 slightly than an opener. Osaka, world No 88 or not, retains the gravity of all she has completed 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 rising freedom and venom; Ostapenko, a former French Open champion, had no reply.
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Osaka celebrated factors with loud “come ons” and fist pumps and the group matched her noise and vitality. In what was an excellent 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 rather a lot 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 residence — it offers me a lot extra confidence.”
She additionally had further motivation to beat Ostapenko on Tuesday, understanding 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 a press release 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)