Naomi Osaka overpowers defending champ Angelique Kerber in first round

NEW YORK—On Tuesday at the US Open, Naomi Osaka decisively shut down defending champion Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 6-1, in just over an hour, making it look disturbingly easy.

The world No. 45 is relatively new to the Top 50, but she played like a Top 10 veteran on Arthur Ashe Stadium under a closed roof. At just 19 years old, she has already made a name for herself on tour, having reached the third round in all three of her Grand Slam main-draw debuts last year (Australian Open, French Open and US Open). Her biggest strife was lacking the ability to close out big matches. That has since changed.

"I was really happy because I grew up watching the greatest players play on that court, so to win a match on it felt really special," Osaka said.

The Japanese phenom hit 22 winners to Kerber’s nine, with 14 coming off her forehand wing. Despite drawing the world No. 6 in her opening round, Osaka must have seen the opportunity at hand. Kerber has been having a sloppy year, at best, and was 1-2 in her hard-court tune-ups heading into the US Open.

Their games match up in favor of the hard-hitting Osaka, as well, who’s more likely to bash a forehand into the back wall rather than just retrieve a ball into the court. Kerber was too passive to handle Osaka on what would be a golden day for the teen. It was as if Osaka could do no wrong, as she kept her composure from start to finish. She swung freely with everything she touched, and it found its way into the court. Simply put, it was Kerber's perfect nightmare.

"I think she's a very aggressive player, but I know this before. She served very well and was going for it. She played a very good match from the beginning," Kerber said. "But for me it was for sure not the best day and not the best match."

Osaka drew first blood for a 5-3 lead in the first set. She then stormed ahead in the second for 3-1, as the chips continued to perfectly fall her way. Right around this stage is where the teen could have been expected to falter. She’s certainly done it before. Last year, in the third round of the US Open, she held a 5-1 third-set lead against Madison Keys, only to let it slip away. The loss was crushing, but she had no such trouble closing things out on Tuesday.

"This court hasn't really been a fond memory, but now I hope I changed that,” Osaka said right after the match. “At 4-1 I thought, ‘I really hope I don't do what I did last year.’"

Kerber tried to dig in, but continued to remain far too passive, producing just three winners as Osaka kept steamrolling. Instead of even thinking about choking, the teenager closed out the biggest win of her career on her first match point.

"I felt really relieved, especially since I was so nervous on the last point. I just barely returned the serve," Osaka said. "I just really didn't want to play a long point on the last one, so I was really glad when she made an error."

With the lopsided loss, Kerber loses a staggering 2,000 points and will slip out of the Top 10 for the first time since 2015.

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