Playing in front of Japanese fans for the first time as a Grand Slam winner was a special moment, newly crowned U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka said Wednesday.
Less than two weeks after becoming the first Japanese major winner at Flushing Meadows, Osaka cruised through her first match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open against Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova.
While happy with her performance in the 6-2, 6-1 victory at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi, the 2016 Pan Pacific finalist said her overwhelming feeling was gratitude at her warm reception from Japanese fans.