Naomi Osaka honored 'The Answer,' NBA legend Allen Iverson, with her dramatic on-court ensemble at the US Open on Monday night in New York. Before beating unseeded Russian Anastasia Zakharova 7-6 7-6 in the opening round, the trend-setting Osaka donned Iverson's famed arm sleeves and headband as she walked onto center court at Arthur Ashe Stadium in a wide-tulle floor-length skirt and a sleeveless hoodie. Interestingly, her grey sweatshirt included burnout newspaper clippings of her career exploits sewn into the tattered fabric. 'It's my, I guess, my tribute to Iverson. I really like him a lot,' Osaka said after the win. 'I mean, Nike said basketball, so I said, 'OK, you want basketball, I´ll give you basketball.'' The look was part of Nike's effort to connect tennis with basketball for this year's US Open. Earlier on Monday, Aryna Sabalenka sported a mesh jersey for her first-round win over Camila Osorio. But Osaka happens to be a big fan of Iverson, the legendary Philadelphia 76ers point guard, whom she credits for setting trends both on and off the hardwood. 'For me, he's a trailblazer,' Osaka said earlier in the week, while donning a t-shirt featuring an old issue of SLAM magazine with Iverson on the cover. 'I think he's also someone that I look up to a lot, because he's done a lot in fashion. Whether it's on purpose or not, he's shifted the way that NBA players dress. 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.' Osaka said she has never met the basketball Hall of Famer, but said 'hopefully he'll see this,' suggesting a future meeting could be arranged. Fortunately, Iverson caught wind of Osaka and now he's interesting in meeting. As the Georgetown product wrote on Instagram: 'Wow, what a honor!! BIG FAN can't wait to meet you.' Designers Téla D'Amore and Ev Bravado were happy to use the 51-year-old point guard as inspiration. 'The look references Allen Iverson, more specifically, his gray sweats and the nonconformist cadence with which he moved through the world as an athlete,' they told Vogue. 'Naomi and Law sent two images our way of Iverson wearing a headband—head only—and from there, we had roughly 30 hours to figure out the rest.' Osaka would exit the court several hours later after surviving a valiant comeback effort by the relentless Zakharova. Fortunately for Osaka, her serve was strong, as she finished with 11 aces to just three double faults. Howsever, she also finished with 30 unforced errors on the evening. Now the four-time Grand Slam winner moves on to play Kateřina Siniaková in the second round on Wednesday in Queens. #naomiosaka #alleniverson #tennis #usopen #basketball
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