Osaka cruises into 3rd round at US Open

New York - Top-ranked defending champion Naomi Osaka advanced to the third round of the US Open on Thursday by defeating Poland's 53rd-ranked Magda Linette 6-2, 6-4.

The 21-year-old Japanese star, also the reigning Australian Open champion, will next face either US 15-year-old Coco Gauff, the world number 140 who reached the fourth round in July at Wimbledon, or 112th-ranked Hungarian qualifier Timea Babos.

Linette broke Osaka in the second game of the second set and leaped ahead 3-0 before the top seed rallied to capture six of the last seven games and close out the match in 71 minutes.

"I'm really happy to not have to play a three-set match," Osaka said.

Among the celebrities watching her match at Louis Armstrong Stadium were retired NBA star Kobe Bryant and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose kneeling protest became a national symbol for objecting to racial inequality and social injustice.

"I'm really grateful they came out," Osaka said. "It's really cool. I honestly just wanted to finish as fast as possible because I didn't want them to be out in the sun too long."

Osaka thanked the supportive crowd, saying, "You guys were really nice to me. It gives me a lot of energy and makes it so much more fun."

US Open results on Thursday (x denotes seeding):

Men

Second round

Denis Kudla (USA) bt Dusan Lajovic (SRB x27) 7-5, 7-5, 0-6, 6-3

Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI x23) bt Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3

Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) bt Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) 7-6 (13/11), 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-3

Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO x17) bt Jenson Brooksby (USA) 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, 6-2

Feliciano Lopez (ESP) bt Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) 6-7 (7/9), 6-0, 6-4, 6-4

Daniil Medvedev (RUS x5) bt Hugo Dellien (BOL) 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3

Daniel Evans (GBR) bt Lucas Pouille (FRA x25) 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4

Pablo Carreno-Busta (ESP) bt Ricardas Berankis (LTU) 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 6-0

David Goffin (BEL x15) bt Gregoire Barrere (FRA) 6-2, 6-2, 6-2

Kamil Majchrzak (POL) bt Pablo Cuevas (URU) 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1

Alex De Minaur (AUS) bt Christian Garin (CHI x31) 6-3, 7-5, 6-3

Andrey Rublev (RUS) bt Gilles Simon (FRA) 6-2, retired

Nick Kyrgios (AUS x28) bt Antoine Hoang (FRA) 6-4, 6-2, 6-4

Matteo Berrettini (ITA x24) bt Jordan Thompson (AUS) 7-5, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-1

Alexei Popyrin (AUS) bt Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2

Gael Monfils (FRA x13) bt Marius Copil (ROU) 6-3, 6-2, 6-2

Denis Shapovalov (CAN) bt Henri Laaksonen (SUI) 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2

Pablo Andujar (ESP) bt Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) 6-2, 6-4, 6-2

Alexander Bublik (KAZ) bt Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) 6-7 (3/7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3

Alexander Zverev (GER x6) bt Frances Tiafoe (USA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3

Aljaz Bedene (SLO) bt Benoit Paire (FRA x29) 4-6, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4)

Diego Schwartzman (ARG x20) bt Egor Gerasimov (BLR) 6-4, 6-2, 6-0

Tennys Sandgren (USA) bt Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-4

John Isner (USA x14) bt Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5)

Marin Cilic (CRO x22) bt Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (GER) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3

Chung Hyeon (KOR) bt Fernando Verdasco (ESP x32) 1-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3)

Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) bt Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) walkover

Women

Second round

Naomi Osaka (JPN x1) bt Magda Linette (POL) 6-2, 6-4

Coco Gauff (USA) bt Timea Babos (HUN) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

Anett Kontaveit (EST x21) bt Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2

Belinda Bencic (SUI x13) bt Alize Cornet (FRA) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2

Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) bt Aryna Sabalenka (BLR x9) 6-3, 7-6 (7/3)

Donna Vekic (CRO x23) bt Kaia Kanepi (EST) 7-5, 6-3

Julia Goerges (GER x26) bt Francesca Di Lorenzo (USA) 7-5, 6-0

Kiki Bertens (NED x7) bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 7-5, 6-4

Taylor Townsend (USA) bt Simona Halep (ROU x4) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4)

Sorana Cirstea (ROU) bt Aliona Bolsova (ESP) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x19) bt Danielle Collins (USA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

Bianca Andreescu (CAN x15) bt Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 6-3, 7-5

Kristie Ahn (USA) bt Anna Kalinskaya (RUS) 6-2, 6-3

Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) bt Alison Riske (USA) 6-4, 6-3

Elise Mertens (BEL x25) bt Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) 6-2, 6-2

Andrea Petkovic (GER) bt Petra Kvitova (CZE x6) 6-4, 6-4

Dayana Yastremska (UKR x32) bt Rebecca Peterson (SWE) 6-4, 6-1

Sofia Kenin (USA x20) bt Laura Siegemund (GER) 7-6 (7/4), 6-0

Johanna Konta (GBR x16) bt Margarita Gasparyan (RUS) 6-1, 6-0

Zhang Shuai (CHN x33) bt Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3

Ons Jabeur (TUN) bt Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

Karolina Muchova (CZE) bt Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE x29) 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2)

Petra Martic (CRO x22) bt Ana Bogdan (ROU) 6-2, 6-4

Anastasija Sevastova (LAT x12) bt Iga Swiatek (POL) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3

Fiona Ferro (FRA) bt Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3

Wang Qiang (CHN x18) bt Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) 7-5, 6-4

Maria Sakkari (GRE x30) bt Peng Shuai (CHN) 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-2