Sports

Naomi Osaka Beats a Top-10 Opponent for the 1st Time Since 2020

In the US Open first round, two-time tourney winner Naomi Osaka eliminated Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets at Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 28, 2024

Ed Odeven

Naomi Osaka reaches for a backhand against Jelena Ostapenko in a US Open women's singles first-round match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on August 27, 2024. (©Geoff Burke/USA TODAY SPORTS)

Read the full story on SportsLook - Naomi Osaka Beats a Top-10 Opponent for the 1st Time Since 2020

Naomi Osaka recorded her first victory over a top-10 player since 2020 in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday, August 27.

Osaka defeated Latvian world No 10 Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 in New York to continue her quest for success in tennis after returning to the WTA Tour in January 2024. This was following the birth of her daughter Shai the previous year.

Two-time US Open champion Osaka (2018, 2020) was a wild-card entrant into the final Grand Slam tournament of the year. She's currently ranked 88th in the world.

Osaka had a commanding presence in the match, winning 39 of 50 service points at Louis Armstrong Stadium. In addition, she committed zero double faults to Ostapenko's six. Osaka also helped her cause by playing the entire 64-minute match without a slew of mistakes. Exhibit A: Ostapenko had 21 unforced errors and Osaka had five.

On Thursday, Osaka faces 52nd-ranked Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in the second round.

In 2023, Osaka was a US Open spectator while on maternity leave. Time away from the sport strengthened her desire to return to competition.

"I remember last year I was watching Coco [Gauff] play and I so badly wanted to step on these courts again," Osaka said after the match, BBC Sport reported. She added, "I didn't know if I could ― athletically, physically, if I was able to. Just to play this match and be in this atmosphere means so much to me, so thank you."

A Positive Outlook for Naomi Osaka Entering the US Open

Osaka gave herself a pep talk before defeating Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open women's singles winner.

Continue reading the full story on SportsLook.

Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.