Naomi Osaka ousted by American Danielle Collins in first round of US Open

Naomi Osaka still can’t get her Grand Slam act together.

She got a rough draw in facing late-blooming American Danielle Collins and the players slugged it out in magnificent fashion.

Naomi Osaka falls looks down to the ground during her 7-6, 6-3 loss to American Danielle Collins in the first round of the U.S. Open. Larry Marano Naomi Osaka shakes hands with Danielle Collins after her first-round U.S. Open loss. Larry Marano

Collins, who made the finals of the Australian Open in January and was the 19th seed in Queens, was too ferocious. Collins copped the first-set tiebreaker and eliminated the unseeded Osaka 7-6, 6-3 in a match that ended at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The players didn’t take the court until nearly 11 p.m. at Arthur Ashe Stadium, but the quality of tennis was terrific. Collins returned serve with a flourish and the 27-year-old prevailed after losing all three of her prior matchups against the former Queens resident who is a Japanese citizen.

Meanwhile, Osaka, who has won two U.S. Open titles (2018, 2020) but has suffered from mental-health issues, spent a lot of the match screaming after her mistakes in Japanese and English.