"He has a big forehand, big serve", Nadal said of the 23-year-old wild card.
She said: "I mean, it was insane".
Yet a tenacious Blinkova refused to back down, saving a match point on Osaka's serve in the second set before breaking her to set up a tiebreak, which the Russian won when Osaka sent a return into the net.
The 21-year-old from Japan, who pulled out of a tuneup tournament earlier this month because of pain in her left knee, wore an elastic sleeve over it during her match.
Stephens' biggest problem was unforced errors; she finished with 33, more than double Kalinskaya's 15.
"I just tried to focus and don't think too much about her and think just about my game".
Osaka will now face Astra Sharma or Magda Linette in the next round.
"I think I gave them a heart attack", she said, and she ran up to a handshake between a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old who complimented each other profusely by Gauff's account and hoped the future would bring further meetings.
I read with interest that Riske has appointed an analyst to help her and whether this has had any impact with her results is tough to ascertain, but she's certainly had a solid year, running at 104% combined hold/break on hard court.
Rafael Nadal and John Millman of Australia shake hands after the first round on day two of the 2019 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
UEFA Awards: Virgil Van Dijk emerges Men's Player of the Year
The 28-year-old is the first defender to win the award since the inaugural edition in 2010-11. Liverpool star Alisson Becker was named UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season .
After beating Venus Williams in the first round, then a 2017 Wimbledon semifinalist in the second, Gauff got to Week 2 before her surprising showing there ended with a loss to eventual champion Simona Halep. After limping off the court on 16 August she was resolute: "In the end, I'm going to play even if the doctor says no".
Wozniacki, meanwhile, came from a set down to see off Wang Yafan 1-6 7-5 6-3 in an opening-round scare.
Osaka, who lifted her first major title at Flushing Meadows a year ago, fell 4-1 down in the first set but then won five straight games on the way to an unconvincing victory.
Two-time French Open runner-up Thiem was upset by Italian giant-killer Thomas Fabbiano 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, the Austrian fourth seed slumping to another first-round exit, having lost at the same stage at Wimbledon.
"Honestly, I mean, I really don't remember the match too well", Gauff said, "because everything is still a blur". She later credited the crowd that jammed into Louis Armstrong Stadium for giving her energy and inspiration.
Gauff can become the youngest woman to reach the last 32 in NY since Anna Kournikova in 1996.
"But then I just refreshed my mind and tried to push her back and come forward a little more".
Naomi Osaka of Japan returns a shot against Anna Blinkova of Russian Federation during their Women's Singles first round match on day two of the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 27, 2019 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have combined to take 11 Grand Slam titles in a row, so the speculation is who can succeed them.
Gauff did not start well against the 72nd-ranked Potapova.
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