World No.1 Naomi Osaka survived a scare as she started her US Open title defence with a hard-fought 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 first-round victory over Anna Blinkova on Tuesday.
Osaka, 21, fought from 3-0 down in the first set but wasted a match point at 6-5 in the second, forcing her to go the full distance against the 84th-ranked Russian at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It was Osaka’s first match at the site since she became the first Japanese national to win a grand slam title in a controversy-marred final against Serena Williams last year.
She went on to lift the Australian Open trophy in January but has not won a tournament since.
Afterwards Osaka admitted the nerves that come with being a first-time defending champion played a part in her slow start.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous in my life,” she said in an on-court interview.
“I don’t think I ever really found my rhythm, but I just fought as hard as I can.”
Osaka chose to look on the bright side of her unexpectedly competitive match against the world number 84.
“It helps me a lot because I learn from the tougher matches. It helps me prepare to have to adjust my game plan throughout the match.”
Next up for Osaka is a second round meeting with Poland’s Magda Linette on Thursday.
Meanwhile, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova eased past Czech compatriot Denisa Allertova with a 6-2 6-4 victory to move into the second round.
Kvitova, runner-up at the Australian Open this year, converted four break points and smashed 16 winners while Allertova double faulted six times and made 33 unforced errors to hand the sixth seed the win in 79 minutes.
Two-time major winner Garbine Muguruza of Spain suffered her second straight first-round exit following Wimbledon, losing 2-6 6-1 6-3 against American Alison Riske in a match that lasted just over two hours.
Riske converted seven break points and smashed 39 winners to advance.
Seventh-seeded Kiki Bertens made quick work of Paula Badosa, beating the Spaniard 6-4 6-2 to advance to the second round.
Bertens hit 23 winners and won nine more points at the net as she wrapped up the contest in just over an hour.