Muchova started the first set dominantly, controlling things with her forehand and looking set for an easy win, but Osaka quickly came back to take a 40-love lead in the second set.

She gave up that lead after a series of errors and misses, giving Muchova room to recover. Osaka had five forehand errors and a double fault after her strong start to the second set, and that was enough for Muchova to avoid a third set and advance.

Osaka looked strong in her surprise first-round win over No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko, but had only glimpses of her former world No. 1 ranking on Thursday. The 26-year-old is still recovering after a 18-month hiatus and will be looking to build on her US Open showing.

Muchova will now face Anastasia Potapova in the third round on Friday. Although Muchova is currently ranked 52nd, she looked more than capable of becoming a US Open finalist again, and she will look to capitalize on the momentum of a win over a crowd favorite in Round 3.

World No. 1 Iga Świątek is also still in contention for the US Open this week. She won convincingly in the second round and will now face No. 25 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in round 3. Świątek, who won the US Open in 2022, lost in the fourth round to Jelena Ostapenko last year in a match that temporarily ended her run as world No. 1.

Fan favorite Coco Gauff is looking to defend her US Open title after beating Tatjana Maria in the second round. In round 3 she will face Elina Svitolina.