NEW YORK, United States (AFP)-Twice former champion Naomi Osaka advanced to the second round of the US Open on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Belgium’s Greet Minnen.

Osaka, seeded 23rd, broke Minnen three times in both sets and will go on to face American Hailey Baptiste for a place in the last 32.

“Whenever I play here the atmosphere feels like home, and it is home for me,” said Osaka, the US Open champion in 2018 and 2020.

“I felt really nervous and I think that that made me a little negative, so I just tried to be as positive as I could when I realised I was getting a little down on myself.”

Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam winner, has struggled to rediscover her form of old since returning from maternity leave last year but reached the final in Montreal earlier this month.

The former world number one is seeded at a major for the first time since the 2022 Australian Open and has looked re-energised after a coaching shake-up.

Osaka, who is working with Iga Swiatek’s old coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, is chasing her first tour-level title since the 2021 Australian Open.