Naomi Osaka channels Allen Iverson in latest US Open fashion statement

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 on Monday night 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.

She had the hood on when she entered. When she removed that to reveal her black outfit, Osaka had her hair done in cornrows under a headband, just as Iverson did when was the NBA MVP 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. Aryna Sabalenka is wearing an orange dress, one of the Knicks’ colors.

“It’s my, I guess, my tribute to Iverson. I really like him a lot,” Osaka said following her 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 done a lot in fashion, whether it’s on purpose or not, but he’s shifted the way that NBA players dress,” Osaka said Saturday. “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 Monday, writing: “Wow, what a honor!! BIG FAN can’t wait to meet you.”

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