US Open Tennis 2019 Results: Naomi Osaka Cruises to Win During Thursday's Play

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Defending champion Naomi Osaka cruised into the second round of the 2019 U.S. Open on Thursday by beating Poland's Magda Linette in straight sets. 

Great Britain's Johanna Konta was also in fine form at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The No. 26 seed lost just one game in her victory over Russia's Margarita Gasparyan.

However, sixth seed Petra Kvitova crashed out in the second round. The Czech star was beaten in straight sets by Germany's Andrea Petkovic.

The early play in the men's draw saw wins for Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev. The German came through in five sets against Frances Tiafoe, while the fifth seed beat Bolivia's Hugo Dellien.

Women's Early Results

Andrea Petkovic bt. (6) Petra Kvitova 6-4, 6-4

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(16) Johanna Konta bt. Margarita Gasparyan 6-1, 6-0

(20) Sofia Kenin bt. Laura Siegemund 7-6(4), 6-0

(32) Dayana Yastremska bt. Rebecca Peterson 6-4, 6-1

Karolina Muchova bt. (29) Hsieh Su-wei 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(2)

(12) Anastasija Sevastova bt. Iga Swiatek 3-6, 6-1, 6-3

(22) Petra Martic bt. Ana Bogdan 6-2, 6-4

(1) Naomi Osaka bt. Magda Linette 6-2, 6-4

Men's Early Results

(15) David Goffin bt. Gregoire Barrere 6-2, 6-2, 6-2

Dan Evans bt. (25) Lucas Pouille 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4

Denis Kudla bt. (27) Dusan Lajovic 7-5, 7-5, 0-6, 6-3

(6) Alexander Zverev bt. Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3

(23) Stanislas Wawrinka bt. Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3

(5) Daniil Medvedev bt. Hugo Dellien 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3

Full results and schedule is available from the tournament's official website

Thursday Recap

Osaka made light work of Linette as she continued the defence of her crown in New York. The defending champion broke early and then won five games in a row to clinch the opener 6-2.

The WTA Tour noted Osaka had some stellar support in the crowd:

Linette proved stiffer opposition in the second set. The Pole produced some fine forehand winners to move into a 3-0 lead and put the defending champion under pressure.

However, Osaka showed her fighting qualities to hit back. The top seed produced some clutch serves and precise tennis to come through in one hour and 11 minutes.

The Japanese star will now face either qualifier Timea Babos or 15-year-old Wimbledon sensation Coco Gauff in the third round.

Meanwhile, Konta needed just 56 minutes to storm past Gasparyan. The 28-year-old was dominant on serve, and the Russian had no answer to her power and accuracy.

It was a ruthless performance from Konta who faced only one break point in the entire match and hit 24 winners compared to Gasparyan's three.

The 16th seed will face far tougher tests as the tournament progresses, but the win will give her confidence of reaching the quarter-finals at the U.S. Open for the first time.

However, there was disappointment for two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, who was beaten in the second round by Petkovic:

The first set was a tight affair but Petkovic managed to gain the crucial break in the fifth game to take the opener 6-4.

Kvitova did go a break up in the second but Petkovic came back well on her way to an impressive victory.

The sixth seed offered her view after the match, per CNN's Jill Martin:

In the men's draw, the best of the early matches was Zverev's win over Tiafoe. The German came into the match after beating Radu Albot in five sets in the first round and went the distance again.

Tennis writer Matthew Willis noted the topsy-turvy nature of the match:

Zverev emerged the stronger of the two players in the final set to outlast his opponent and take victory in three hours and nine minutes.