Japanese star claims first top-10 win in four years
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFTStepping into Louis Armstrong Stadium on Tuesday, former world No.1 Naomi Osaka brought both her fashion and tennis A-games to the court as she overpowered world No.10 Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 in just 64 minutes.
It was Osaka’s first top-10 win since Brisbane 2020 and it saw her display the kind of shot-making that earned her two US Open titles and two Australian Open crowns before she took a 15-month maternity leave from the tour.
Osaka’s walk-on outfit included an oversized lime green bow attached to the back of a cropped white bomber jacket, a tutu-like skirt, and custom-made Beats headphones adorned with bows on either side to match her kit. Her shoes also had bows attached to them.
“I think for me when I put on the outfit it's almost like a super suit, so I try to channel that,” she said after her impressive win.
“I do remember thinking, like, I need to win this match so I can wear my other colour. That was very important to me. Yeah, I guess you'll see my other colour next time,” she added with a laugh, referring to the black version of her outfit, created by designer Yoon Ahn for Nike.
The 26-year-old Osaka struck 19 winners, including nine aces, and just five unforced errors throughout the entire match against former Roland-Garros champion Ostapenko, who was a quarter-finalist at the US Open last year. She saved both break points she faced and converted all three she created on Ostapenko’s serve.
Osaka broke into tears the moment she secured the victory, and was emotional throughout her on-court interview with Pam Shriver.
“I was trying not to cry when I was walking out. I remember last year I was watching Coco play and I so badly wanted to step on these courts again. I didn’t know if I could. I didn’t know if athletically, physically if I was able to. Just to win this match and to be in this atmosphere means so much to me. So, thank you,” said Osaka, who next takes on 2023 Roland-Garros finalist Karolina Muchova.
Osaka returned from maternity leave in January and despite committing to playing a full schedule, she has been searching for form and consistency, achieving a mixed bag of results.
“Having two wins here means a lot, and I think for me I've been struggling with confidence throughout the year, and this time now forces me to look in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, you've done really well here, there's no reason why you can't do well again’,” she said in her press conference.
Worlds No.1 Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner were tested on Tuesday but managed to advance to the second round relatively unscathed.
Five-time major champion Swiatek was broken twice and struck 41 unforced errors in her 6-4, 7-6(6) victory over 104th-ranked lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova. It was Swiatek's 80th victory at the Grand Slams.
Her reward is a last-64 meeting with Japan’s Ena Shibahara, who hit a new milestone as she claimed her first ever Grand Slam singles victory, playing the first Grand Slam singles main draw of her career.
A successful doubles player, who made the Australian Open final last year alongside Shuko Aoyama, Shibahara qualified for a maiden singles main draw at the majors this fortnight in New York and defeated Daria Saville 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) to book a second-round date with Swiatek.
Meanwhile, Sinner shook off a first-set letdown before overcoming American Mackenzie McDonald 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 in two hours and 24 minutes.
“Tough match obviously. First matches are never easy. Took some time to get in the rhythm, but very happy how I ended the match, which hopefully can give me confidence for the next match,” said Sinner.
The reigning Australian Open champion leads the tour with 29 hard court victories this season and has lost just twice on the surface in 2024. The Italian takes on 20-year-old Alex Michelsen next.
Bidding to become just the third man in Open Era to win Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year after Rod Laver (1969) and Rafael Nadal (2010), Carlos Alcaraz extended his winning streak at the Grand Slams to 15 matches, thanks to a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 success over Australia’s Li Tu.
Alcaraz will square off with Dutch world No.74 Botic van de Zandschulp next.
Toronto champion and Cincinnati finalist Jessica Pegula sent her fellow American Shelby Rogers into retirement, defeating the 31-year-old 6-4, 6-3. Pegula’s second-round opponent will be Sofia Kenin, who knocked out 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
While many of the usual suspects advanced to the second round, Tuesday’s day session witnessed a slew of upsets with No.11 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas sent packing by Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, who posted the biggest victory of his career at the majors with a 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 effort.
No.11 seed Danielle Collins exited the tournament at the hands of fellow American Caroline Dolehide, while No.19 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime fell in straight sets to 18-year-old Jakub Mensik.
Dan Evans fought back from 0-4 down in the final set, taking the last six games of the contest to defeat No.23 seed Karen Khachanov 6-7(6), 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4 in five hours and 35 minutes, making it the longest match in US Open history.
Khachanov fired 79 winners but committed 73 unforced errors in a clash that witnessed a combined 16 breaks of serve (eight per player) from 41 break point opportunities.
Evans moves on to a second-round meeting with Argentina’s Mariano Navone.
No stranger to pulling off outrageous shots on a tennis court, Karolina Muchova did this against Katie Volynets on Tuesday!
“I'm not somebody that likes to celebrate my accomplishments. I've struggled with feeling guilt around success, and that's something I have had to work on. So I'm not great, honestly, at having, like, an all-about-me moment. I just would prefer to do something like that maybe in private. But I feel like I've gotten enough attention to last a lifetime. I was kind of thinking of that movie, I think it was ‘Meet the Parents’ or ‘Meet the Fockers’, where Gaylord has a shrine and all his 18th-place medals. I don't want to be like Gaylord, so I think I'm good. (Laughter).”
– Danielle Collins played the last Grand Slam singles match of her career on Tuesday but is not interested in anyone making a big deal out of it.
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
