19-year-old Naomi Osaka defeats defending champion Angelique Kerber | US Open 2017 Round One

Some matches become more meaningful with time. The Naomi Osaka-Angelique Kerber opening-round meeting at the 2017 US Open is certainly one of those such encounters. Not quite a changing of the guard, it nonetheless brought together the defending champion, Kerber, and the following year s champ, Osaka. The unseeded challenger, 19 years of age at the time, ended the German s title defense in clinical fashion in Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was Osaka s first career Top-10 win, and provided a glimpse into the world-beating talent of the Japanese—talent that would soon see her crowned queen in New York, and within 17 months, claim the world No. 1 ranking, after she followed up her 2018 US Open triumph with another trophy at the 2019 Australian Open. Kerber, meanwhile, recovered beautifully from her first-round stumble and an overall down year in 2017, which saw the former world No. 1 drop to No. 19 by year s end. At the first three majors of 2018, she reached the Australian Open semifinals and the French Open quarters, before winning her third career Slam at Wimbledon. Don t miss a moment of the US Open! Subscribe now! https://bit.ly/2Pdr81i