Haitian-Japanese star Naomi Osaka survives three-set thriller to reach US Open fourth round

Naomi Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion, survived a grueling three-set battle against Belgium’s Elise Mertens on Friday night at Louis Armstrong Stadium, winning 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 to reach the fourth round of the US Open for the third time in her career.

The match, which lasted 2 hours and 38 minutes, tested Osaka’s resolve as much as her game. She overcame three missed match points before finally closing it out when Mertens sent a forehand wide on the fourth attempt.

Osaka, the No. 13 seed, took control early, winning the first set and breaking Mertens’ serve to open the second. But Mertens, the No. 20-ranked Belgian who has finished each of the past nine seasons inside the world’s Top 35, fought back to level the match, pulling Osaka into a grinding four-deuce game before forcing a decider.

The haitian-Japanse finished with 39 winners against 41 unforced errors, numbers that reflected an uneven night on court.

“I started pushing a lot, because I wanted to see if she had the guts to hit winners and go for it,” Osaka said. “Thankfully, for me, she made a couple of mistakes.”

The win sets up a fourth-round meeting with No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who defeated Yuliia Starodubtseva 7-6(6), 6-3 later Friday night. Rybakina holds a 1-0 edge in their head-to-head since 2022, having beaten Osaka in the Canadian Open quarterfinals last month. The two are scheduled to meet Monday, September 7.