Hilary Swift for The New York Times
Nearly a year ago, Naomi Osaka summoned remarkable nerve and composure to block out thunderous discord and beat Serena Williams in perhaps the most contentious United States Open final ever.
On Tuesday, she returned to the same court, but under markedly different circumstances. Fifty weeks ago Arthur Ashe Stadium heaved and pulsated as Williams argued with tournament officials over several disputed calls. But for Osaka’s first-round match against Anna Blinkova of Russia on Tuesday, the building was quiet and mostly empty.
Yet Osaka, a 21-year-old from Japan, said she was more nervous in this match than she had ever been before on court.