Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

Osaka up, Tsitsipas escapes Murray attack

- Agencies

Defending champion Naomi Osaka stretched her Grand Slam win streak to 16 matches on Monday at the US Open while Greek third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas struggled past Andy Murray in five sets.

Osaka, seeking her third US Open crown in four years, defeated 87th-ranked Czech Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-1 at a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium to book a second-round matchup with Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic.

“It feels kind of crazy to play in front of everyone again,” Osaka said. “I feel really comfortabl­e here. I’m just glad I won.”

Osaka beat Bouzkova in their only prior meeting in the first round of this year’s Australian Open on the way to her fourth Grand Slam title.

The 23-year-old Japanese star could become the first back-toback US Open women’s champion since Serena Williams, out this year with a torn hamstring, won her third in a row in 2014.

Osaka’s major win streak includes her most recent US and Australian Open wins and a firstround win at this year’s French Open before withdrawin­g over mental health issues.

Osaka, who lit the cauldron at the Tokyo Olympics, gave an Olympic pin to a young girl in the same venue where she won last year’s title when fans were banned due to Covid-19.

“It felt quite lonely for me,” she said. “So I’m quite glad to see little kids in the audience and grown ups too. The energy here is unmatched.”

Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, by 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 after four hours and 49 minutes in surroundin­gs more like an intense secondweek showdown than a curtainrai­ser for the fortnight.

“To have an electric atmosphere out here is something we’ve been waiting for,” Tsitsipas said. Two-time Olympic champion Murray, ranked 112th lost for the first time in 15 firstround US Open matches.

“It didn’t come easy,” Tsitsipas frosty reception at the net after the match.

“I have zero time for that stuff at all and I lost respect for him,” Murray said. “It’s nonsense. And he knows it, as well.”

Tsitsipas, who plays Frenchman Adrian Mannarino next, said he followed ATP rules on breaks and medical timeouts, even as Murray questioned the length and timing.

“I’m playing by the rules and sticking to what the ATP says is fair,” said Tsitsipas. “Then the the 23-year-old Greek star won five of the next six points to grab the set and level the match.

“The shoes got so wet that at the end of the set, I was slipping basically and was losing balance,” Murray said. “That was my bad. It was an important moment in the match.”

Murray broke in the second game of the third set and held out from there, but Tsitsipas took the last two sets to advance.

Crowd energy returns

energy, the atmosphere, it br a lot back to tennis.”

Two-time Grand Slam ch pion Simona Halep and phens each won to reach the ond round.

“You feel the energy. You alive on court,” Halep s “Hopefully it will stay like forever.”

Russian second seed Da Medvedev defeated French Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-3, 6his 200th career match win 160th win on hardcourts.

 ?? USA TODAY SP ?? Andy Murray serves against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Day 1 of the 2021 US Open tennis in New York on Monday.
USA TODAY SP Andy Murray serves against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Day 1 of the 2021 US Open tennis in New York on Monday.

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