Paris: 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.
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.
Alcaraz fights to get past de Jong
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz reached the French Open third round but suffered a worrying loss of form midway through his match against Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong before winning 6-3 6-4 2-6 6-2 on Wednesday.
The third seed was forced to work hard for a two-set lead under the Court Philippe Chatrier roof but 176th-ranked De Jong refused to be intimidated and extended the match as Alcaraz suffered a third-set slump. An error-strewn Alcaraz continued to struggle as the first four games of the fourth set all went against serve with the 21-year-old becoming increasingly frustrated on court.
But Alcaraz regained some control in the nick of time to hold serve for a 3-2 lead and he broke De Jong in the next game as his gritty opponent finally began to run out of steam. There was some relief as Alcaraz accelerated towards victory and De Jong netted a forehand after a little more than three hours to end an absorbing contest.
"I mean, I said many times every player can make you in trouble and you have to be focussed on every point, in every round, it doesn't matter about rankings," the Wimbledon champion said in his on-court interview. "It's good for me to get some rhythm but I prefer to spend some less hours on court."
Alcaraz arrived in Paris having not played a tournament since losing in the Madrid quarter-finals a month ago, courtesy of a muscular problem in his arm. That did not stop him blasting past J.J. Wolf in the first round but De Jong, who came through qualifying and then beat Britain's Jack Draper in round one, was a step up.
Making a mockery of the difference in rankings between the two players, De Jong went toe to toe with Alcaraz, matching the Spaniard's power at times and producing some silky touches. Alcaraz dropped his first service game as De Jong feathered a superb drop shot but the Spaniard recovered impressively to dominate the opener with his extra firepower. De Jong dug deep to hold serve throughout the second set and had a break point at 4-4 but could not convert it.
When Alcaraz then broke serve to move two sets ahead it looked like a routine victory was beckoning but De Jong raised his level and Alcaraz's dropped off. An increasingly confident De Jong has Alcaraz worried early in the fourth set but ultimately his challenge faded.
Alcaraz will face either American 27th seed Sebastian Korda or South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo in the next round.
