Naomi Osaka Surges Past Siniakova in Three-Set US Open Test

Naomi Osaka walked into Arthur Ashe Stadium dressed like she meant business and, for a set and a half, played exactly that way.

The two-time US Open champion, back on one of the sport’s grandest stages, beat Katerina Siniakova 6-2 5-7 6-1 to reach the third round in New York, riding out a jagged second set before reasserting control with authority in the decider. Her reward: a meeting with Belgian 23rd seed Elise Mertens.

Osaka, 28, has always treated the US Open as her stage, and the stagecraft started before the first ball. After opening her campaign in an outfit inspired by NBA great Allen Iverson, she returned on Thursday in a crisp white dress embroidered with tennis racquets – a subtle nod to flair beneath composure.

Once the warm-up ended, the aesthetics gave way to blunt force. Osaka tore through the first set in just 30 minutes, striking cleanly, serving big, and pinning the top-ranked doubles player deep behind the baseline. Siniakova, dangerous when she can disrupt rhythm, rarely got close enough to bother her.

By the hour mark, the script looked familiar. Osaka broke for 4-2 in the second set, tightened her grip, and stepped up to serve for the match at 5-3. The finish line was in sight.

Then it vanished.

What followed was a flurry of four consecutive breaks of serve that flipped the tone of the night. Osaka’s timing slipped, her radar went off, and Siniakova pounced. The Czech, who had been scrambling to stay in rallies, suddenly found daylight as Osaka’s consistency dipped. Of Osaka’s 29 unforced errors on the night, 20 spilled out in that second set alone.

Serving at 5-6, the 13th seed faltered again. Siniakova seized her chance, dragged the contest into a deciding set, and for the first time the buzz inside Arthur Ashe carried a hint of uncertainty.

Osaka left the court.

She called it a bathroom break. In reality, it was a reset.

When she returned, the difference was immediate. The shoulders loosened. The feet moved quicker. The ball left her strings with the heavy, confident sound that has defined her best hard-court tennis. The third set became a statement.

Osaka stormed through six of the final seven games, re-establishing the depth and pace that had suffocated Siniakova early on. The Czech’s resistance thinned under the renewed barrage; Osaka’s serve, shaky in the second set, locked back in as she closed out the match in two hours and two minutes.

“The match was definitely really tough. I just felt like I was a little bit too hard on myself after opportunities in the second set,” she told the Arthur Ashe crowd. “I took the bathroom break, regrouped a little, came back and just tried to have no regrets.”

It was not flawless. It did not need to be. What mattered was the response: from squandered lead to ruthless finish, from frustration to clarity.

Next up is Mertens, a seeded, seasoned opponent who will not hand over momentum so easily. For Osaka, though, the equation in New York is starting to look familiar again – big stage, big stakes, and a game that, when it clicks, still sounds like a contender.