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NEW YORK -- A year ago, still on maternity leave and still unsure when she would play elite tennis again, Naomi Osaka visited the U.S. Open to appear with Michael Phelps for a discussion about mental health. While at the site, she sat in the stands to watch one of Coco Gauff's matches.
Osaka also already was thinking about being back on a court at Flushing Meadows. And there she was Tuesday at Louis Armstrong Stadium, overpowering No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2.
Other women moving into the second round included No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who got past Kamilla Rakhimova 6-4, 7-6 (6), and past major champions Elena Rybakina and Caroline Wozniacki. But No. 11 Danielle Collins' Grand Slam singles career ended with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 loss to Caroline Dolehide in an all-American matchup. The 30-year-old Collins is retiring after this season.
Four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz defeated qualifier Li Tu 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Earlier in Ashe, No. 1 Jannik Sinner played his first match since news came out that he was cleared in a doping case involving two failed tests in March, and while he got off to a slow start, the 23-year-old Italian quickly bounced back to eliminate Mackie McDonald 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.
Other seeded men advancing included No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz and No. 25 Jack Draper, but No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 19 Felix Auger-Aliassime both lost, as did No. 23 Karen Khachanov, who came out on the wrong end of the longest U.S. Open match, by time, since tiebreakers were instituted in 1970.
Dan Evans snuck past Khachanov 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 across 5 hours, 35 minutes.