Naomi Osaka Edges Mertens in Thrilling US Open Battle

Naomi Osaka is not back in name only. Under the lights of Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York, the two-time US Open champion was dragged into a full-blooded fight by Elise Mertens, lost her way, found it again, and somehow clawed out a place in the last 16.

The scoreline – 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 over the 23rd seed from Belgium – only hints at the swings that ran through this third-round match.

Fast start, heavy hitting

From the opening games, the 13th-seeded Osaka looked like a player intent on imposing herself. She ripped through three games in a row in the first set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead and pinning Mertens behind the baseline with the kind of depth and pace that once made her the dominant hard-court force in the women’s game.

Her serve did the rest. Osaka closed out the set by holding with a flurry of powerful deliveries, brushing aside pressure and sealing the opener 6-3 under the cool evening glare of Flushing Meadows.

Mertens bites back

The second set initially followed the same script. Osaka continued to attack from the baseline and broke Mertens in the third game, looking ready to accelerate away.

Then the match turned.

Osaka’s level dipped just enough for Mertens to pounce. The Belgian steadied, tightened her game, and reeled off the next two games to erase the break. Osaka’s early advantage vanished, and with it, some of her rhythm. Mertens began to extend rallies, draw errors, and gradually drag the contest onto her terms.

By the time the set closed, Mertens had levelled the match, 6-3, and the stadium knew it had a real fight on its hands.

A bruising decider

The third set became a test of nerve as much as shot-making. Mertens, reading Osaka’s timing better and capitalizing on a cluster of unforced errors, moved in front and applied real scoreboard pressure. Osaka’s frustration showed, including a racket toss that underlined how quickly the night had become complicated.

Then came a pause. The Japanese star took a medical timeout, a moment that reset the tempo of the evening. When play resumed, the energy shifted.

Osaka began to hit through the court again. The forehand regained its bite, the serve its edge. Late in the set, with the match hanging in the balance, she broke back, dragging herself level and igniting the crowd.

Serving at 5-5, Osaka produced one of the defining shots of the night: an ace to cap a crucial hold and push herself ahead 6-5. The roar from the stands told its own story. In the following game, with Mertens now under the gun, Osaka closed the door and completed the comeback in the decider, 7-5.

Relief, reflection, and what comes next

“Honestly, I can’t believe I won this match,” Osaka admitted on court afterwards, a mixture of relief and disbelief evident as she addressed the crowd. She thanked the spectators for their backing and, in a candid moment, apologised for her on-court behaviour, including the racket-throwing flashpoint that punctuated her frustration.

It was a raw, human end to a raw, human match.

Osaka now moves into the fourth round, where she will face either Elena Rybakina or Yulia Starodubtseva. After a night like this, the question is no longer whether she can still trade with the best on a hard court.

It is how far this rediscovered edge can carry her through the New York fortnight.