Naomi Osaka relished the chance to be back playing in the Arthur Ashe stadium despite her straight sets defeat to Karolina Muchova.
Japan’s Naomi Osaka, twice the title winner in 2018 and 2020, returned to court in New York this week after the birth of her daughter saw her miss last year’s event.
An inconsistent campaign in Toronto saw the 26-year-old beat Ons Jabeur before tripping up against Elise Mertens in the following round.
The former world number claimed her first top-10 victory in over four years when she emotionally beat tenth seed Jelena Ostapenko in a ruthless and box office opening round.
However, Czechia’s Karolina Muchova smartly and diligently progressed 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), after Osaka squandered a hat trick of set points.
With Osaka’s form against the top players arguably better than it is her lower ranked opponents, it’s worth remembering here that Muchova was also on a comeback journey.
Once a semi-finalist here at Flushing, Muchova was sidelined with a wrist injury since the end of 2023, only returning to the tour in June.
Naomi Osaka thanks the US Open crowd for their support despite defeat
With her stint in New York over, Osaka will still take a handful of positives away, despite her consistency still a glaring issue.
Despite Osaka opening up about some off-court challenges prior to the US Open, she still managed to defeat one of this year’s Wimbledon quarter-finalists.
A fan favorite wherever she goes, Osaka reflected: “It was really fun. I felt very grateful there were so many people cheering. I missed it a lot.”
Assessing her performance afterwards she added: “Honestly I felt the same way [the margins were slim]. For me this match was so different with my match with Ostapenko.
“I felt like I had to keep fighting, I didn’t feel like I was playing as perfectly as before but I don’t think you can play perfectly every match. I think during the pressure moments I got nervous and I don’t know if I just have to keep playing more matches and get used to that feeling, especially on a really big stages.
“But honestly if I get past the disappointment I feel proud of myself for getting that many opportunities while still feeling I could have played so much better,” she said.
The flamboyantly dressed Osaka departs with another disappointing run at a major and will hope to go a few better in Melbourne, where her other two major titles have come.
Naomi Osaka’s error-prone game is still her undoing
When Osaka managed to get through the entire first set of her round one match without hitting an unforced error, it felt plausible that this kind ion form would see her challenge for the title.
A huge shot-maker, Osaka’s litany of errors against Muchova along with her inability to hold her nerve is a symptom of a player lacking their former fire.
It’s obvious Osaka wants to win and believes she can, however spurning a 4-2 advantage in a second-set tiebreak saw her cut a frustrated figure as Muchova upped her level on the big points.
Having forced Iga Swiatek to save multiple match points at the French Open this year, an event the Pole went onto win, Osaka’s lack of consistent clinical edge is and might remain her undoing.
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