Roland-Garros: Osaka battles to first three-set win of comeback

The former world No 1 will meet Iga Swiatek, the top seed, or French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean in the next round

26 May 2024

Naomi Osaka, Rome 2024 Image Credit: Inside / Panoramic

Haresh Ramchandani

writer

Roland Garros •First round • completed

See draw

L. BronzettivsN. Osaka

Brilliant in some parts, erratic in others, Japanese Naomi Osaka struggled but finally prevailed over Italian Lucia Bronzetti to score her first three-set win of her comeback, which began in January, and advance to the second round of Roland-Garros on Sunday.

The former world No 1, a two-time winner at the Australian Open and US Open Grand Slams in the first act of her career, won the first set 6-1. Bronzetti, ranked No 67 in the world, stayed with Osaka in the second and broke the Japanese player in the tenth game to win it 6-4 and send the match into a decider.

Osaka regrouped herself in the decider and went up a double break to lead 4-0 but that’s when things got really interesting. Spraying her groundstrokes outside the lines of the Philippe Charrier Court and displaying nerves which she admitted made her tight, Osaka lost five games in a row to find herself serving to stay in the match at 5-4 in the third.

But in the final twist of the match, the Japanese star held her serve for 5-5, and then broke Bronzetti for a 6–5 lead thanks to a close line call that went in her favour, followed by a net cord and a gust of wind that saw Bronzetti unable to control her groundstroke on breakpoint.

Osaka returned and served out the match 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 to score her first Grand Slam win since the 2022 Australian Open. The Japanese player was 0-2 in three-set matches in 2024 prior to this win.

“I think for me the match, it really was like a roller coaster, said Osaka after the win. “I felt like I was extremely focused in the first set and maybe I let it go a little bit, and then I kind of came back in the third but then I let it go a little bit, and then I just got really tight from there.

“I’m really glad I was able to regroup and win and sit here today.”

The win sets up a likely showdown with the current world No 1 and undisputed clay court queen of the women’s game – Poland’s Iga Swiatek, who meets French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean in another first round match.

Paris (Grand Slam), other first-round matches (Roland-Garros, clay, EUR 53,478,000):