Naomi Osaka spiked her racket after one errant forehand late in the second set at the U.S. Open, then flung it the length of the baseline after a missed backhand return ceded that tiebreaker.
Sometimes, that's the sort of reaction it takes to right things for Osaka as the two-time Grand Slam champion eventually figured out a way to survive a third-round scare, grinding out a 6-3 6-7(4) 6-2 victory over fearless Ukrainian teenager Marta Kostyuk to reach the last 16 of the U.S. Open on Friday.
"She didn't back down from me or from, like, the speed of my ball, which for someone that young is kind of amazing, because I feel like, you know, the first set went that way, and then she could have faded in the second set," said Osaka.
Naomi Osaka returns a shot during her women's singles third round match against Marta Kostyuk on day five of the 2020 U.S. Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, September 4, 2020. /VCG
The Japanese fourth seed also said her left leg, which was heavily taped following the hamstring injury that forced her to withdraw from the final of a tune-up event last week, was still not at 100 percent.
"It could be better," she said. "But I think for a three-set match, the amount of movement that I did, and the fact that I felt like I could have kept going if I really needed to, is definitely a good sign."
After Osaka had breezed through the first set, a match filled with shifts in momentum suddenly turned in Kostyuk's favor as she broke her opponent for the first time to pull ahead 4-3.
Kostyuk consolidated the break but dropped the next three games and had to hold serve to force the tiebreak. She dropped the first two points but won seven of the next nine to close out the set, leaving Osaka to fling her racket down in frustration.
Marta Kostyuk serves the ball against Naomi Osaka during the women's singles third round match at the 2020 U.S. Open in New York, September 4, 2020. /VCG
"Everything was going really well for her during the tiebreak," said Osaka. "She came to the net, and I hit it as hard as I could towards her, and she made it, and I was just, like, 'whoa, this is unbelievable'."
After Kostyuk went ahead 2-1 in the final set, the Ukrainian had her right ankle taped for the second time in the match.
Osaka then leaned on her experience, digging deep to save five break points in a 14-point game to draw level and from there won 16 of the next 19 points to close out the victory.
(With input from agencies)
(Cover image: Naomi Osaka of Japan celebrates a point as she survives third-round scare against Ukrainian teenager Marta Kostyuk at the 2020 U.S. Open in New York, September 4, 2020. /VCG)