Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam singles champion, secured her place in the third round of the US Open on Thursday with a hard-fought 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 victory over Katerina Siniakova. The match, held at Arthur Ashe Stadium, saw Osaka navigate a challenging second set before regaining control.
Osaka, who has not won a Grand Slam title in over five years, admitted to being "a little bit too hard on myself" during the second set, where she lost five of six games and committed 20 unforced errors. After a bathroom break to regroup, she emerged with renewed focus. "Came back and just tried to have no regrets," Osaka stated.
Reflecting on her performance, the two-time US Open champion credited her experience for helping her overcome the difficult moments. "I am able to pull from the matches that I’ve played in the past," she said. "I think obviously when it gets to the third set, I try to think of all of the matches I was able to pull through. … You can just pull from your memory bank for every certain situation that you need to get finished. I think that’s the best thing about being a more experienced player."
Osaka's attire for the second-round match continued her trend of distinctive fashion, featuring a custom Thom Browne white jacket and dress embroidered with tennis rackets. This marked the first year since 2018 that Osaka has reached the third round of all four Grand Slams. She is seeded 13th and will face No. 23 Elise Mertens in the next round.
"Here, obviously I’ve had a lot of good memories," Osaka said of playing in New York. "I hope to continue making them."
In other US Open news, the doubles team of Serena and Venus Williams is scheduled to play their first US Open doubles match together in four years on Friday night, facing No. 14 seeds Chan Hao-Ching and Maya Joint. The sisters have won two of their 14 Grand Slam doubles titles in New York. Serena Williams recently returned to the tournament, playing mixed doubles with Carlos Alcaraz, while Venus Williams was eliminated in the first round of the singles draw.
The men's singles draw has seen significant upsets, with No. 3 Felix Auger-Aliassime and No. 13 Lorenzo Musetti both losing their second-round matches. These departures, alongside that of injured No. 1 Jannik Sinner, have thinned the field of top seeds. Entering Thursday night, six of the top 16 men's seeds had been eliminated, contrasting with only one top-20 player, Belinda Bencic, being out in the women's draw.