Twice former champion Naomi Osaka progressed to the second round of the US Open on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Belgium’s Greet Minnen.
Osaka, seeded 23rd, broke Minnen three times in both sets and will now face American Hailey Baptiste for a place in the last 32.
“Whenever I play here the atmosphere feels like home, and it is home for me,” said Osaka, the US Open champion in 2018 and 2020. “I felt really nervous and I think that that made me a little negative, so I just tried to be as positive as I could when I realised I was getting a little down on myself.”
The four-time Grand Slam winner has been working to regain her best form since returning from maternity leave last year. She showed promising signs earlier this month by reaching the final in Montreal.
Now seeded at a major for the first time since the 2022 Australian Open, the former world number one appears re-energised following a coaching change. Osaka is currently working with Tomasz Wiktorowski, the former coach of Iga Swiatek, and is aiming to capture her first tour-level title since winning the Australian Open in 2021.