Naomi Osaka didn’t need to take her game out of cruise control on Thursday afternoon.
The two-time U.S. Open champion, seeded No. 23 at this year’s tournament, dominated American Hailey Baptiste, 6-3, 6-1, in front of a sleepy early afternoon crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The second-round match lasted just 70 minutes and ended with Baptiste, 23, serving up her 9th double fault on match point.
The four-time Grand Slam winner, sporting a purple Nike bubble hem skirt on this 75-degree day in Flushing, repeatedly pumped her fist, slapped her thigh and bounced from side to side throughout a match she dominated from start to finish.
After fighting off a break point in her opening service game, Osaka took immediate control of the match by breaking Baptiste to go up 2-0.
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