Osaka topples seeded Ostapenko; Rybakina, Daniel also advances
NEW YORK, AUGUST 27: Japanese star Naomi Osaka relished her first win over a top-10 player in four years when she knocked out 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets while Elena Rybakina quelled a late challenge from Aiava Destanee to move to the women’s singles second round at the US Open.
Wearing an neon-green-colored outfit adorned with a bow on the back, Osaka dispatched the 10th seed 6-3 6-2 in just 64 minutes, putting on display a power-packed show.
The Japanese is coming off a maternity break and the victory obviously meant a lot to the two-time champion at Flushing Meadows.
After taking the first set, hitting clean and hard, Osaka began the second with an early break when Ostapenko made a forehand return error at 30-40. There was no stopping the Japanese after that. She closed the match with a crushing forehand winner.
Osaka made only five unforced errors to 21 of her rival.
“I so badly wanted to step on these courts again. I didn’t know if I could. Just to win this match, just to be in this atmosphere means so much to me,” Osaka said, struggling to hold her tears.
Fourth seed Rybakina, the highest-ranked Asian in the women’s singles, fired 11 aces in her 6-1 7-6(1) win over her Australian opponent.
The Kazakhstan player literally toyed with her rival in the opening set. Destanee gathered herself from the bashing and created break chances but Rybakina served strong on crucial points. The match ended with Destanee sending a forehand out.
Rybakina’s compatriot Yulia Putintseva, seeded 30th, had to dig deep into her reserves to prevail against a fighting Linda Noskova from Czech Republic 7-6(3) 6-4 in a tough opening round.
Also moving to the second round was China’s Xinyu Wang, who came from behind to beat Australia’s Anastasia Rodionova 3-6 6-4 6-1 in two hours and 10 minutes at Court 8.
However it was curtains for as many as five Asian players — Nao Hibino (JPN), Qian Wang (CHN), Shuai Zhang (CHN), Saisai Zheng (CHN) and Ena Shibahara (JPN).
Hibino was hammered 0-6 1-6 by Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, while Wang lost 2-6 5-7 to world number 16 Liudmila Samsonova on her opening round.
Zhang had got off to flying start as she bageled Ashlyn Krueger but the American bounced back to win 0-6 6-1 7-5 in one hour and 41 minutes. Saisai went down fighting 4-6 1-6 against French player Jessika Ponchet.
Shibahara was off to a confident start against Australia’s Daria Saville but eventually lost 6-3 4-6 6-7 (6-10) in a marathon match that lasted three hours and 17 minutes.
In the men’s singles, no male Asian player could record a win on Tuesday.
China’s world number 41 Zhizhen Zhang struggled with his knee injury and was forced to retire against 25th seed Briton Jack Draper. After losing the first set 3-6, the Chinese lost 11 straight games before calling it quits. He had suffered the injury during training last week.
Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov played his heart out, giving his all, but that was not enough to go pat Poland’s seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz, who won 6-3 7-6 (4) 7-6(3) in a contest that lasted nearly three hours at Court 7.
Japanese Taro Daniel squandered a two-set advantage to lose en energy-sapping five-setter 6-4 6-4 4-6 6-7(8) 4-6 to Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate.
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