French Open 2024: Iga Swiatek produces stunning comeback to defeat Naomi Osaka in thriller at Roland-Garros

Updated 30/05/2024 at 08:28 GMT

Iga Swiatek pulled off a remarkable comeback victory over Naomi Osaka in the second round of the French Open. The current world No. 1 triumphed 7-6(1) 1-6 7-5 on Court Philippe-Chatrier, and found her top form to oust the former four-time Grand Slam champion from the competition. Swiatek, who has won this tournament three times, faces Marie Bouzkova or Jana Fett in the next round.

'There it is' - Swiatek breaks to love against Osaka to take control

Iga Swiatek survived a match point as she overcame Naomi Osaka in a thrilling second-round match at the French Open.

The world No. 1 was on the brink of crashing out of the tournament that she has won three times previously, but she remained resilient as Osaka’s nerves got the better of her.

Swiatek stole the opening set via a tie-break after 12 games with nothing to separate the pair, but the Pole showed her class to raise her level and rampage through it, steamrolling Osaka 7-1 with powerful groundstrokes.

Wimbledon women

'Very tough for me' - Gauff explains being 'a little emotional' after opening win

25 minutes ago

However, Osaka rallied and rediscovered her rhythm in the second, immediately breaking in the first game before blasting a cross-court forehand return winner to go up a double-break

A wayward Swiatek backhand handed Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, the leveller, and she continued her momentum into the decider, holding firm after two Swiatek break points in her opening service game.

She broke in the second game, with a clinical backhand winner, and, as Swiatek’s forehand continued to let her down, Osaka continued to press harder on the gas.

She piled on the pressure with a love-hold to make it 5-2, forcing Swiatek to serve to stay in the tournament. She did - just - and that left Osaka a service game to record a famous victory against the world’s best clay-court player.

'Chance after chance goes begging' - Swiatek breaks back after match points for Osaka

She missed countless chances - spurning a match point as Swiatek rallied - and the Pole levelled the match at 5-5.

Swiatek kept a cool head with the match back on serve - and a knife’s edge - and remained calculated, taking advantage of her opponent’s nerve, cracking her at the last to set up a service game of her own to steal the victory.

A wayward Osaka backhand flew wide to do it, and the top seed survives - just.

She will face Marie Bouzkova in the next round.

The first set saw both players look to be the aggressor, but it was Swiatek who piled on the early pressure, threatening to break in the opening game before cracking the code to make it 3-1.

However, Osaka rallied, drawing it back to 4-4, stepping in with power and eventually forcing a Swiatek backhand long.

The world No. 1 stormed through the resulting tiebreak 7-1, with a combination of superb winners and Osaka mistakes helping her seize first blood.

Osaka rose off her chair to become the dominant force in the second set, breaking Swiatek immediately before a sensational backhand winner sealed a double-break soon after.

She romped through the following games to take it 6-1 and level the scores, and her momentum continued into the start of the third.

Swiatek threatened a break before a brilliant backhand cross-court winner brought her the break she craved, and a solid hold followed thereafter.

Up 4-1, the Philippe-Chatrier crowd began to sense a famous upset, and Osaka continued her red-hot form to move into a position to serve it out.

However, she missed countless chances - including a match point where she sent a backhand long - and Swiatek utilised her experience to stay composed.

The Pole broke back, before serving strongly despite persistent Osaka pressure to even the scoreboard.

Osaka’s nerves were evident, and her the precedent of her next service game was set with a double fault right at the beginning, with Swiatek breaking at long last.

A final Osaka backhand flew wide, and the top seed survives.

'There it is' - Swiatek breaks to love against Osaka to take control

Swiatek cut an emotional figure afterwards, calling out the Parisian crowd for their in-play call-outs.

“This match was really intense,” Swiatek said. “Much more intense for a second round than I expected. I’ll be more ready next time.

“Naomi played amazing tennis with really loose hands, and sometimes risking a lot. She played really great tennis and maybe she’s going to be a clay-court specialist in a while. I’m happy that she’s back and playing well.

“I want to say one thing - I’m sorry to bring [it up], because I know we are playing for you as entertainment and we are also earning money [from it], but sometimes under a lot of pressure, when you scream something during the rally, or right before the return, it’s really hard to be focussed.

“My mind was playing around sometimes. I was really under the biggest pressure, but I was able to focus more and not think about what the score was or that I was really close to losing. I kept going forward and I hope that my game is going to get better because of that.”