U.S. Open Kicks Off With Naomi Osaka's Fresh Start

By Dana Farrington / NPR

Published August 31, 2021 at 5:50 AM PDT

This story was published more than 3 years ago.

Naomi Osaka celebrates against Marie Bouzkova during their Women's Singles first round match on Day 1 of the 2021 U.S. Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, N.Y., on Monday.

The U.S. Open is underway with plenty of fans and without a few key players.

Lines were massive for ticket holders, who were required to provide proof they had been vaccinated against COVID-19 before entering the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, N.Y. Fans were barred from the tournament last year because of the pandemic.

But former champions Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are not playing this year because of injuries. (Sporting News has a list of the top absences.)

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One celebrity who is back and in the spotlight: Naomi Osaka. She was off to a good start yesterday following a public pledge to "try to celebrate myself and my accomplishments more, I think we all should."

Former U.S. Open champion Andy Murray was off to a rockier start, losing to No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and blasting Tsitsipas' extended bathroom breaks during the match.

"It's just disappointing because I feel it influenced the outcome of the match," Murray said. "I think he's great for the game. But I have zero time for that stuff at all, and I lost respect for him."

Find the Day 2 schedule here.

This story originally published in the Morning Edition live blog.

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