Naomi Osaka still can't get her Grand Slam act together. She fell 7-6, 6-3 Tuesday night to Danielle Collins in the first round of the U.S. Open.
“I’m the type of person that thinks a lot, to the point where I overthink. Collins returned serve with a flourish and the 27-year-old prevailed after losing all three of her prior matchups against the former Queens resident who is a Japanese citizen. Collins, who made the finals of the Australian Open in January and was the 19th seed in Queens, was too ferocious.
Danielle Collins has not played since July but the 19th-seeded American was back to her best in her first-round win over Naomi Osaka at the US Open.
Her run to the Australian Open final boosted her into the Top 10 and she could count herself as the standard-bearer for American tennis until Pegula overtook her in July. Her stunning stab lob at 4-4 in the first-set tiebreaker and another clutch desperation volley to save break point in the fourth game of the second set. Collins finished the match with 23 winners to 24 unforced errors. Despite her lack of momentum, Osaka played a strong match. Unseeded and ranked No.44, Osaka was the underdog on paper. She had not played since Lausanne in July and had lost her last three matches dating back to Roland Garros. But a double-fault and backhand error from Collins allowed Osaka to level at 4-4. And if there was any rust, Collins showed no signs of it. Jessica Pegula comes into this tournament as the top-ranked American, with Coco Gauff and Madison Keys as plausible title favorites. "When you lose to someone three times you get a lot of information on what you can do better," Collins said. Seeded No.19, Collins snapped her three-match losing streak with a powerful baseline display to earn her first win in four tries against Osaka. From there, the quality of shot-making rose with every game, with both women going toe-to-toe for power.
Two-time U.S. Open champion is sent packing in two sets for her second first-round exit at a major this year.
Collins converted two of three break points in the second set to keep Osaka from mounting a comeback. “I’m just really still kind of speechless in a way because I took the summer off,” Collins said. “I just kind of went for it, and hoped for the best.” Like Osaka, Collins took off most of the summer to deal with a string of injuries, playing just three matches since the French Open. I would say the sport is definitely very physical, but it’s kind of my job to stay on top of it.” The 24-year-old lost to another American, Amanda Anisimova, at the French Open before missing out on Wimbledon with a left Achilles’ injury.
Naomi Osaka walked off the court, headed toward the locker room and layed down, draping a towel over her face. Out-hit in Arthur Ashe Stadium by another big ...
More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Felt like her plan was to immediately put me in defense, so she would have hit the ball no matter what type of ball I hit on her side of the court. Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. I'm the type of person that thinks a lot, to the point where I overthink. [Naomi Osaka makes Miami quarterfinals, says she's more grateful](/article/sports/naomi-osaka-makes-miami-quarterfinals-says-she-s-more-grateful-122032900106_1.html) [French Open: Naomi Osaka loses 5-7, 4-6 to Amanda Anisimova in 1st round](/article/sports/french-open-naomi-osaka-loses-5-7-4-6-to-amanda-anisimova-in-1st-round-122052301458_1.html) ['Very worried,' says Naomi Osaka on returning to French Open after 1 year](/article/sports/very-worried-says-naomi-osaka-on-returning-to-french-open-after-1-year-122052100769_1.html) [4-time major champion Naomi Osaka wins at San Jose, her 1st match since May](/article/sports/4-time-major-champion-naomi-osaka-wins-at-san-jose-her-1st-match-since-may-122080300222_1.html) [Naomi Osaka wants go easy on herself entering clay season in Madrid Open](/article/sports/naomi-osaka-wants-go-easy-on-herself-entering-clay-season-in-madrid-open-122042800170_1.html) [Naomi Osaka](/topic/naomi-osaka) walked off the court, headed toward the locker room and layed down, draping a towel over her face.
Danielle Collins closes Tuesday's play in Arthur Ashe Stadium with a statement victory against two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka.
In an opener that contained the drama of a final, the 2018 and 2020 US Open champion Naomi Osaka – a former world No. 1 – fell to Danielle Collins in two ...
Danielle Collins, an American seeded 19th, defeated four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 7-6 (5), 6-3 in a big-hitting first-round matchup at the US ...
[Anett Kontaveit](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=2059) of Estonia. [Amanda Anisimova](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=3221), the No. 13 [Belinda Bencic](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=2183) also advanced over [Andrea Petkovic](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=735), who is headed into retirement. 24 seed, lost to unseeded [Yulia Putintseva](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=1802) 3-6, 3-6. 16 seed, fell to [Qinwen Zheng](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=6048) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. The others were 2004 champion [Svetlana Kuznetsova](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=379) and 2016 champion [Angelique Kerber](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=745). 9 [Garbine Muguruza](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=2155) and No. [Jelena Ostapenko](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=2195), the No. [Aryna Sabalenka](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=3038), No. [Paula Badosa](http://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=2731) got off to a rough start, but won a second-set tiebreaker en route to a three-set victory over [Lesia Tsurenko](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=1726). 22 seed [Karolina Pliskova](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=740), the runner-up here in 2016, outlasted [Magda Linette](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=1649) in a third-set tiebreaker 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (10-8), while No. Outhit in Arthur Ashe Stadium by another big hitter, [Danielle Collins](https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=3262), two-time US Open champion Osaka was left to contemplate a second consecutive first-round loss at a Grand Slam tournament.