New York: Naomi Osaka smacked her racket against Arthur Ashe Stadium's court. Moments later, she chucked her equipment, sending it bouncing and skidding halfway to the net. Then came a full-on spike near the baseline.
Osaka's game was off. Her composure was gone. By the end, the crowd was booing her for taking too much time between points, turning her back to the court.
Soon enough, Osaka's title defense at the U.S. Open was over in the third round with a 5-7, 6-7 (2), 6-4 loss Friday night to Leylah Fernandez, an 18-year-old from Canada who is ranked 73rd and never had been this far in Grand Slam competition.
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Osaka? She came in with a 16-match winning streak at majors and four career trophies, all on hard courts. But this was Osaka's first Slam tournament since she pulled out of the French Open before the second round to take a mental health break she also sat out Wimbledon, before participating in the Tokyo Olympics, where she lit the cauldron and maybe the time off was an issue.
Another possible factor in her failure to close things out while serving for the victory against the left-hander Fernandez at 6-5 in the second set: Osaka hadn't competed since Monday. That's because the woman she was supposed to meet in the second round, Olga Danilovic, withdrew because she was sick.