By Chris Oddo | Thursday August 30, 2018
Naomi Osaka has quietly inserted herself in position to make a deep run at the U.S. Open. The Japanese No.1, who has struggled at times this season after her breakout title run at Indian Wells, surged into the third round on Day 4 with a 6-2, 6-0 thrashing of Julia Glushko of Israel.
Osaka has now reached the third round in three consecutive years in New York but she has never gone further.
The 20-year-old is hoping to finish the Grand Slam season with a bang—she reached the round of 16 at this year’s Australian Open and generally seems to shine on the biggest stages. She will face Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus next.
“I have played her once in Toray, I think, two years ago,” Osaka told reporters on Thursday. “I remember she was playing really well, and I managed to win that match in the end, though.”
She added in her typical quirky manner: “I don't really know too much about her. I heard that she's funny off court, but other than that, I don't think we know too much about each other.”
Sasnovich, who slid past Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 7-6(3) on Thursday, has made considerable noise at the Slams in 2018. She knocked off Petra Kvitova in the first-round at Wimbledon and reached the second week.
Osaka hopes that the patience she is learning from her coach Sascha Bajin will help her if she needs it this week. A formidable power player that can serve big and drop jaws with her baseline power, Osaka has worked hard to develop her movement, timing and patience.
“I feel like I'm slowly learning when to pull the trigger on my shots," she said on Thursday. "Before I feel like I felt the need to hit every ball almost. So now I'm just learning how to relax and construct the point.”
She’s also learning to deal with the expectations that come from winning the Indian Wells title this spring. It hasn’t always been an easy process for her.
In August she took some time off to regroup, and posted on social media an open letter that stated how the pressure and expectations have made things more challenging for her. It was well-received and she appears to be refreshed after sharing her concerns.
Here in New York, Osaka said she’s playing pressure-free once again. So far it has showed.
“I feel like now I'm over it, and I sort of went back into my old mindset that I have been at during the beginning of the year,” she said. “So I don't really feel pressure or anything. I think if anything, it would come from inside, so, like, internal pressure, but nothing really from the outside.”
Kvitova, Kerber and Garcia Battle On
It was another good day for seeds on Day 4. Angelique Kerber, Petra Kvitova and Caroline Garcia all moved through, with Garcia surviving an epic struggle with Monica Puig to advance. The Frenchwoman saved six break points in a 19-minute game to hold for 5-4 in the third set against Puig, and she broke in the next game to take the match.
Kerber also needed three sets to get past Sweden’s Johanna Larsson, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, while Kvitova raced past Wang Yafan, 7-5, 6-3.
Also moving on were No.13-seeded Kiki Bertens, who notched her 8th consecutive match to reach the third round at the U.S. Open for the first time. Bertens will face Marketa Vondrousova, who defeated Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets.
No.10-seeded Jelena Ostapenko, No.14-seeded Madison Keys and No.26-seeded Aryna Sabalenka also moved on. Sabalenka, fresh off the New Haven title, won her seventh consecutive match.