Wave Wire Services
NEW YORK (AP) — Naomi Osaka channeled Allen Iverson as part of her U.S. Open debut, and the former NBA superstar liked the look.
Osaka made her usual fashionable entrance for her match against Anastasia Zakharova Aug. 31 in the first round. The two-time U.S. Open champion emerged from the tunnel onto the court in Arthur Ashe Stadium wearing a long, white skirt and a gray, hooded robe featuring newspaper clippings about her.
Osaka removed her hood to reveal her sleek black outfit. She also had her hair done in cornrows under a headband, just as Iverson did when he was the NBA’s most valuable players while playing for the Philadelphia 76ers.
It fit with her apparel company’s theme for the U.S. Open after the New York Knicks won the NBA championship in June.
“It’s my, I guess, my tribute to Iverson. I really like him a lot,” Osaka said following her hard-fought 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3) victory. “I mean, Nike said basketball, so I said, ‘OK, you want basketball, I’ll give you basketball.’”
Osaka wore a shirt with Iverson’s picture when she met with the media on the eve of the tournament and called him a trailblazer.
“I think he’s also someone that I look up to a lot, because he’s kind of done a lot in fashion, whether it’s on purpose or not, but he’s shifted the way that NBA players dress,” Osaka said. “I also think the whole conversation around clothes in sports and also just expressing yourself through style, I feel like he’s someone that I look up to in that regard.”
She added that they’d never communicated, but Iverson posted a message to Osaka on his Instagram page, writing: “Wow, what a honor!! BIG FAN can’t wait to meet you.”
Osaka advances to the tournament’s second round Sept. 2.
