World No 1 Iga Swiatek saved a match point in the final set to avoid a huge second-round upset, defeating Naomi Osaka 7-6 (1), 1-6, 7-5
World No 1 saves match point on Osaka’s serve in third setAs Iga Swiatek took her first steps on the WTA tour in 2019, one of her early breakthrough tournaments in Toronto culminated in a meeting with
With her victory, Swiatek’s bid for a third consecutive French Open title and fourth overall remains alive. While she has built a reputation for her tendency to destroy her opponents, the world No 1 has also shown that she has become one of the most durable and mentally tough players on the tour. While Osaka is ranked No 134 and has been slowly finding her feet on the tour again, Swiatek is the world No 1 by more than 3,500 points, winning both Madrid and Rome tournaments in the build-up to Roland Garros.
Despite her disappointment after the first set, Osaka continued to grow into the match. Her first serve became more precise and the more confident she became, the earlier in the point Osaka launched herself into nuclear forehands. As Swiatek’s error count increased, Osaka rolled through the second set before establishing 5-2, 0-30 on Swiatek’s serve in the deciding set.
As she processed another incredible escape, Swiatek used her on-court interview to criticise the crowd’s conduct. “But sometimes under a lot of pressure when you scream something during the rally or right before the return, it’s really, really hard to be focused,” she said.
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