French Open: Iga Swiatek 'Didn't Believe' Comeback Win Over Naomi Osaka Was Possible

Defending champion Iga Swiatek said she would needed to have been "pretty naive" to think she could beat Naomi Osaka after falling match point down before recovering to win a French Open thriller on Wednesday. The world number one fought back from the brink of defeat to outlast Osaka 7-6 (7/1), 1-6, 7-5 and keep her bid for a third successive Roland Garros title on track. Swiatek trailed 5-2 in the deciding set against fellow four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka, saving a match point on her opponent's serve and winning the final five games to avoid a shock early exit.

"I honestly didn't believe I could win, because I would be pretty naive," said Swiatek, who now holds a 30-2 record in five trips to Paris.

"But it didn't change the fact that I just tried to do work to play better. I actually managed to be more focused at the end of the match, which went pretty badly.

"In first and second set I felt like I'm not completely in the zone. When I was under the biggest pressure I was able actually to switch that and maybe that made the difference."

Swiatek is attempting to become only the fourth woman in the Open era to lift four Roland Garros titles and just the second -- after Serena Williams -- to complete the clay-court treble of Madrid, Rome and French Opens in the same season.

Osaka, appearing at only a second Grand Slam since giving birth to her daughter last July, was on the cusp of her biggest win since returning to tennis at the start of the year before it slipped from her grasp. 

"This match was really intense, much more intense for the second round than I ever expected," said Swiatek, who goes on to play Jana Fett or Marie Bouzkova in the last 32.

"Naomi played amazing tennis and maybe she is going to be a clay-court