The Japanese player, who was world number one in 2019 and won the US Open in both 2018 and 2020, looked set for an easy victory over Siniakova. But after trailing 6–2 in the first set and 4–2 in the second, the Czech player raised her game and took the set 7–5.
"I then took a bathroom break and gathered myself," Osaka says in the victory interview.
It was definitely a tough match.
After regrouping, Osaka came back into the match at Flushing Meadows and took the tiebreak 6–1.
Another former world number one, Iga Swiatek, had an even easier path to the third round. The Pole defeated Argentine Nadia Podoroska, ranked 449th in the world, 6–3, 6–2.
Swiatek won the 2022 US Open.
