Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka was knocked out of the 2022 US Open in the first round when she was defeated by Danielle Collins at the Flushing Meadows on Wednesday, August 31, 2022. She was beaten 6(5)-7(7), 3-6 by Collins, who ended her chances of winning the US Open in the ongoing edition. This also means that it is the first time since 2017 that Osaka will end the season without a Grand Slam title.
Osaka, who was unseeded, fell against 19th seed Collins, who was on a three-match losing streak. The duo has faced each other four times in total, with Collins winning the first time on Wednesday.
Also Read: Watch: Oprah Winfrey pays tribute to Tennis star Serena Williams
“When you lose to someone three times you get a lot of information on what you can do better,” Collins said after her victory.
“With Naomi being the player that she is, she definitely whooped me the last time. I just had to learn from that and make adjustments and I think I did that,” she added.
Naomi Osaka took a 3-0 lead soon after the game began but Collins made a comeback to make the score 3-3. Osaka saved a late break point to hold the score at 6-5. A double fault and an errored backhand helped her to level against Collins at 4-4.
Also Read: How does Rafael Nadal stack up on his US Open return after three years?
Collins looked like an underdog coming into the fixture as she had not played since July and had been on a three-match losing streak since the French Open. She finished the match with 23 winners and 24 unforced errors against Naomi Osaka, also converting three of the five break points.
However, Osaka did not look poor. The two-time US Open winner finished the match with 25 miners to 19 unforced errors. She also served at 65% and won 80% of the first-serve points and finished 67% of the returns.