NEW YORK:
Japan’s Naomi Osaka beat 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 6-2 on Louis Armstrong Stadium on Tuesday in a rare first-round US Open clash between former major champions.
A laser-focussed Osaka held serve throughout and fired nine aces in a surgical takedown to kick off her return to Flushing Meadows following a maternity leave year off in 2023.
Miscues including six double faults and 21 unforced errors plagued an uneven performance by the hard-hitting Latvian.
A back-and-forth first set turned in Osaka’s favour as Ostapenko hit a cross-court backhand into the net in the eighth game, earning the four-time major winner the first of her three service breaks.
Former world number one and twice US Open champion Naomi Osaka Osaka gave a friendly New York crowd a glimpse of her past dominance in the second set as she blasted three straight aces to claim the fourth game.
Ostapenko fought off two match points before Osaka slammed the door with a blistering cross-court forehand winner, setting up a second-round bout with Karolina Muchova.