Poland's Iga Swiatek plays a shot against Japan's Naomi Osaka during their second round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, on May 29.Aurelien Morissard/The Associated Press
Defending champion Iga Swiatek was pushed to the brink by fellow four-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka but secured a 7-6(1) 1-6 7-5 victory after saving a match point in a high-voltage second-round match at Roland Garros on Wednesday.
In a clash worthy of a final between the current and former world number one, Swiatek showed the steely grit she possesses in abundance but has rarely needed at her favourite major, to extend her streak to 16 wins after triumphs in 2022 and 2023.
“For sure this match was really intense. Much more intense for a second round than I ever expected,” Swiatek said.
“Naomi played amazing tennis with loose hands. Sometimes risking a lot but playing in. She played really great. I’m happy she’s back and playing well.”
Swiatek’s clay prowess makes her a firm favourite against anyone but the 22-year-old top seed, who entered the contest on the back of 13 wins and titles in Madrid and Rome, faced huge pressure and was a point away from dropping the first set.
Osaka waves to spectators after losing her second round match of the French Open tennis tournament.Jean-Francois Badias/The Associated Press
In testing conditions under the roof on Philippe Chatrier, the powerful Osaka posed a litany of problems in one of her best matches since coming back this year from a maternity break, but did not capitalise while up 40-30 at 5-4, hitting a shot long.
Three-times champion Swiatek raised her level and ran away with the opening set in the tiebreak but the Pole found herself trailing 4-0 in the next set as the 26-year-old Osaka shrugged off any disappointment to comfortably level the contest.
Osaka saved two break points to hold at the start of the decider and fired a sublime backhand crosscourt winner in the next game to pounce for a 2-0 lead, which the Japanese player extended on serve after another almighty battle.
A rattled Swiatek clawed her way back from 5-2 down and saved a match point before taking full advantage of late errors from a nervy Osaka’s racket to complete a famous victory and avoid her earliest exit from the Grand Slam.
Defeat was a bitter blow for Osaka, who produced one of her most memorable performances on her least favourite surface after fully dedicating herself to it in the build-up to the major and left the main showcourt to a standing ovation from the crowd.
“Maybe she’s going be a claycourt specialist in a while,” Swiatek said.