New York –

After walking on court with her Labubu charm hanging from her racket bag, Naomi Osaka was left grinning from ear to ear as she reached the third round of the U.S. Open for the first time since 2021 with a 6-3, 6-1 win over American Hailey Baptiste on Thursday.

The crystal-encrusted, racket-wielding Labubu charm she has nicknamed "Arthur Flash" — a nod to late pioneer Arthur Ashe — grabbed almost as much attention as Osaka's ferocious forehand winners as she needed just 70 minutes to complete the lopsided win.

"I was just really trying to focus and not give her any free points and just be positive," said Osaka, who showed off a bejewelled red Labubu — nicknamed "Billie Jean Bling" after retired great Billie Jean King — during her first-round win over Belgian Greet Minnen.

Her collection of Labubus — Pop Mart's viral sensation, "ugly-cute" dolls — started as a bit of a joke, Osaka said, with the fan favorite finally having something to smile about after years of bitter disappointment in New York.

She exited in a tearful third-round defeat in 2021 that preceded an extended mental health break from the sport and in the first round of the 2022 edition amid stubborn back issues that hampered her movement.

After her second-round defeat in 2024, she told reporters bluntly: "My heart dies every time I lose."

But Osaka has shown glimpses of her winning form this year, as she reached the Montreal final earlier this month and fired down four aces and 13 winners to sprint past Baptiste.

The Japanese No. 23 seed admitted to feeling rattled during her first-round win on Tuesday but said she had learned to tame her own nerves.

"I made progress in my attitude, which is the one thing that I really wanted to work on," she said. "I think Tuesday I was getting really down on myself in certain moments.

"Today I just really tried to be positive even if she hit a crazy winner or even if she did something incredible, and I tried to be very stable."

In other matches, Iga Swiatek survived a surprise second-round test while men's top seed Jannik Sinner cruised through.

Women's No. 2 seed Swiatek, who arrived in New York after collecting her sixth Grand Slam at Wimbledon and winning the Cincinnati tune-up tournament, had to battle hard to beat unseeded Suzan Lamens 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"It got a bit complicated in the second set, but I'm happy that I could reset and start playing better in the third set," said the 2022 winner, who closed out the match with an ace to set up a meeting with 29th seed Anna Kalinskaya.

Defending men's champion Sinner, the world No. 1, crushed Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in a ruthless performance to book a third-round match with Canadian No. 27 seed Denis Shapovalov.

Two early finishes allowed organizers to move a highly-anticipated first-round doubles match involving 45-year-old Venus Williams to the second-largest stadium, where fans packed the house.

Seven-time Grand Slam winner Williams, who lost in the first round in mixed doubles and women's singles, found inspiration from Canadian partner Leylah Fernandez as they beat No. 6 seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

"This is the best partner I've ever played with outside Serena," said Williams, who this summer became the oldest player to win a WTA singles match since 2004. "We're a great team."