NEW YORK (AP) — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek fought through a tough first-round match at the U.S. Open on Tuesday, while two-time champion Naomi Osaka made an impressive return to the tournament by beating No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2.
Osaka, the 2018 and 2020 champion in Flushing Meadows, needed only 64 minutes to oust Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion. It was the kind of performance that was standard from Osaka when she reached No. 1 in the rankings and won four Grand Slam titles between 2018-21.
But she had missed large gaps of time since, first for mental health breaks and then after giving birth, and just this month posted on social media about the struggles of not playing as well as she used to after failing to qualify for the tournament in Cincinnati.
She smashed 19 winners against only five unforced errors Tuesday.
Swiatek had a more difficult time, edging Kamilla Rakhimova 6-4, 7-6 (6). The 2022 champion was one point away from being forced to a third set when Rakhimova took a 6-3 lead in the tiebreaker. But Swiatek recovered and won the next five points, finishing the match when her opponent missed a backhand.
Swiatek improved to 22-1 in first-round matches at Grand Slams, including 6-0 at the U.S. Open.
Danielle Collins’ singles career at Grand Slams ended when the No. 11 seed was upset by fellow American Caroline Dolehide 1-6, 7-5, 6-4. Collins, 30, has announced she plans to retire at the end of the season. She is still entered in doubles at Flushing Meadows.
Jannik Sinner, the No. 1 seed on the men’s side, followed Swiatek onto Arthur Ashe Stadium for his opening-round match. It was his first action since word emerged that he had failed two drug tests in March but escaped suspension.
No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 19 Felix Auger-Aliassime were both knocked out in the first round, while No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz and No. 25 Jack Draper were among the men’s winners.
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