Naomi Osaka tosses racket, overcomes strong test from teenager at U.S. Open

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. And, perhaps surprisingly, she needed whatever push she could get in Friday's 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.

“While I was playing, honestly, I was cursing myself out,” Osaka said during an on-court interview, “so you wouldn't want to know what I was saying.”

After taking things out on her racket, Osaka sat with a white towel draped over head during a changeover.

“It's what I do in times of extreme anger and frustration,” she said.

Still, she improved to 7-0 since tennis resumed after a hiatus of more than five months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

That's impressive, to be sure, but still a long way from what top-ranked Novak Djokovic has done in 2020. He is 26-0 this season — and his winning streak dating to late last year is now at 29 matches — after a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 28 seed Jan-Lennard Struff on Friday night.

Djokovic's bid for a fourth championship in New York and 18th Grand Slam title overall — Roger Federer, with 20, and Rafael Nadal, with 19, are the only men with more, and neither entered this tournament — will continue in the fourth round against 20th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta on Sunday.

Another past U.S. 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's 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.

Men reaching the fourth round included No. 5 Alexander Zverev, No. 7 David Goffin, No. 12 Denis Shapovalov — who won a five-setter over No. 19 Taylor Fritz — Jordan Thompson and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas faced No. 27 Borna Coric at night.