Naomi Osaka survives test from teenager at US Open

Naomi Osaka improved to 7-0 since tennis resumed after a hiatus of more than five months because of the coronavirus pandemic. (USA Today/Reuters)
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  • Two-time Grand Slam champion figures out a way to turn a tight one into a runaway

NEW YORK: Naomi Osaka spiked her racket after one errant forehand late in the second set at the US Open, then flung it the length of the baseline after a missed backhand return ceded that tiebreaker.
Sometimes, that鈥檚 the sort of reaction it takes to right things for Osaka. And, perhaps surprisingly, she needed whatever push she could get in Friday鈥檚 third-round match.
Facing an opponent competing in just her second major tournament, two-time Grand Slam champion Osaka eventually figured out a way to turn a tight one into a runaway and beat 18-year-old Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2 by claiming the final five games at Flushing Meadows.
鈥淲hile I was playing, honestly, I was cursing myself out,鈥� Osaka said during an on-court interview, 鈥渟o you wouldn鈥檛 want to know what I was saying.鈥�
After taking things out on her racket, Osaka sat with a white towel draped over head during a changeover.
鈥淚t鈥檚 what I do in times of extreme anger and frustration,鈥� she said.
Still, she improved to 7-0 since tennis resumed after a hiatus of more than five months because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Another past US Open champion moving into the fourth round Friday was 2016 titlist Angelique Kerber, who defeated 20-year-old American Ann Li 6-3, 6-4. Kerber鈥檚 next opponent is another American, 28th-seeded Jennifer Brady, a 6-3, 6-3 winner against Caroline Garcia.
In the previous round, Garcia upset top-seeded Karolina Pliskova.
Next up for Osaka will be big hitter Anett Kontaveit, an Estonian seeded 14th. She had a much easier time in a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 24 Magda Linette.
In the day鈥檚 last women鈥檚 match, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova beat 63rd-ranked American Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-3. She鈥檒l face another American, 93rd-ranked Shelby Rogers, in the next round.
With shadows creeping across the Arthur Ashe Stadium court in the early afternoon, the 137th-ranked Kostyuk certainly had her chances to pull off a significant surprise.
The key moment: Kostyuk held five break points that could have given her a 3-1 lead in the final set.
鈥淎 turning point,鈥� Osaka would say later.
She fended off every one of those and held to 2-all, beginning her match-closing run.
鈥淚鈥檓 kind of scared how she鈥檚 going to be in the future,鈥� said Osaka, who played with tape wrapping her left hamstring, which has been a problem since last week. 鈥淪he has no fear.鈥�
Kostyuk had her own issues: She twice took a medical timeout to have a trainer tape her right ankle.
But she also was able to control the outcomes of points for stretches, winning 19 of the 23 points when she went to the net. The Ukrainian teen also delivered more winners than Osaka, 36-30, over the match鈥檚 2 1/2 hours.
鈥淚 guess I would say the thing that made me most displeased was probably the decisions that I was making and the fact that I started becoming way too passive,鈥� Osaka said, 鈥渁nd hoping that she would, you know, make an unforced error.鈥�