Danielle Collins ousted two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka in their first-round match of the 2022 edition of the Major on Tuesday evening. The American won 7-6(5), 6-3 in an hour and 34 minutes. At the start of the match, Osaka raced ahead going up 3-0 in the first set.
However, as Collins began to find her range, she started to peg Osaka back. The set remained on serve thereafter as both players held their ground. In the tie-break, Osaka went down a mini-break early enough to give Collins the momentum surge she needed.
Although the former world no. 1 regained the mini-break back a couple of points later, she wasn’t able to hold on to it. Collins did fumble with the first of the two set points she had in the tie-break but she closed out the set on the second – on Osaka’s serve.
Osaka once again clinched an early break in the second set but was unable to consolidate it. Collins’ chance in the set came as she broke the Japanese in the eighth game. In the ninth game, while trying to serve for the match, Collins saved two break back points before converting on her first match point.
US Open: Emma Raducanu’s Flushing Meadows return ends abruptly
Collins finished the match with 23 winners to Osaka’s 25 and 24 unforced errors to the latter’s 19. The biggest difference between the two came in the points they won at the net and the break points they were able to convert.
Osaka won two of the six points she played at the net while her opponent won seven of nine. Likewise, while Osaka converted only two of the eight break points that came her way, Collins converted three of the five break points she had on Osaka’s serve.
In the second round, the 19th-seeded Collins will play Spanish qualifier, Cristina Bucsa. Bucsa won against Kaja Juvan, 6-4, 6-4. Earlier, the most noteworthy result of the day came in the form of defending US Open titlist, Emma Raducanu’s ouster.
France’s Alize Cornet upset the 11th-seeded Briton, 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 42 minutes. The defeat marked an end to Raducanu’s streak of wins at Flushing Meadows. Last year, Raducanu had won 10 matches at the Major, right from the qualifiers to the final – without conceding a set.
Meanwhile, Cornet will play Katerina Siniakova. The Czech won against Taylor Townsend, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Photo Credit: US Open Twitter Other Results Sloane Stephens d. Greet Minnen 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Lauren Davis d. Lucia Bronzetti 4-6, 7-6(3), 5-4(Retd.)
Yulia Putintseva d.
(24) Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-3
Jule Niemeier d. (W) Sofia Kenin 7-6(3), 6-4
Anastasia Potapova d. Claire Liu 6-1, 6-4
Angelina Kalinina d. Bernarda Pera 6-4, 6-4
(21) Petra Kvitova d. (Q) Erika Andreeva 7-6(3), 6-0
Irina-Camelia Begu d.
(32) Elise Mertens 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
(Q) Yue Yuan d. (W) Jaimee Fourlis 6-2, 6-3
Aliaksandra Sasnovich d. (Q) Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-2, 6-4
(4) Paula Badosa d. Lesia Tsurenko 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3
Petra Martic d. Varvara Gracheva 6-4, 7-6(3)
Marta Kostyuk d.
Mayar Sherif 7-6(2), 6-4
(26) Victoria Azarenka d. (Q) Ashlyn Krueger 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
(22) Karolina Pliskova d. Magda Linette 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(8)
(13) Belinda Bencic d. Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
(Q) Clara Burel d. (25) Elena Rybakina 6-4, 6-4
Alison Van Uytvanck d. (W) Venus Williams 6-1, 7-6(5)
