Naomi Osaka advances to the second round of the #USOpen after winning in straight sets pic.twitter.com/ir0uzYUUQ7
— ESPN (@espn) August 31, 2021
Source:
https://scmp.com/sport/tennis/article/3146975/us-open-naomi-osaka-beats-marie-bouzkova-first-round-olga-danilovic Tennis
US Open: Naomi Osaka beats Marie Bouzkova in first round, Olga Danilovic next up
- World No 3 beats Czech world No 87 in straight sets on grand slam return after pulling out of French Open and sitting out Wimbledon
- Serbia’s Olga Danilovic awaits in the second round in New York as champion says it’s ‘kind of crazy’ to see fans back
Naomi Osaka of Japan returns a shot to Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic during the first round of the US Open in New York. Photo: AP
World No 3 Naomi Osaka started her US Open defence with a “comfortable” straight sets win over Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic in the first round.
In her first grand slam appearance since pulling out of the French Open in June and then sitting out Wimbledon over her mental health, the Japanese third seed won 6-4, 6-1 in New York.
Osaka, who has won only three matches since Paris, was knocked out in the first round of the Cincinnati warm-up by Swiss wild card Jil Teichmann in the run-up to the US Open but was back to form in her slam return. She had also been defeated at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The 23-year-old took a commanding 3-0 lead in the second set against the world No 87, appearing to step up a gear from the opening set before powering through to a 6-1 second set win.
Victory marked Osaka’s 15th hardcourt win in a row at a hardcourt grand slam including the last Australian Open and last year’s US Open.
Osaka said that she felt “really comfortable” being back on court at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, though it was “kind of crazy” that fans were back after last year’s tournament was played out behind closed doors.
“Last year when we didn‘t have a crowd I know it felt quite lonely for me,” Osaka said.
“I‘m just really glad to see little kids in the audience and of course grown-ups too. To be playing the first night match is something I’ve never done before so I’m just glad I won.”
Osaka moves on to the second round where she will face Olga Danilovic of Serbia. World No 145 Danilovic beat Alycia Parks in their first round match, winning 6-3, 7-5.
China’s sole representative in the singles, Zhang Shuai, plays on Tuesday morning (US time) along with Wimbledon breakout star Emma Raducanu.