Swiatek survives almighty scare to pip Osaka in French Open thriller

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.

"It's hard to have any logical thoughts... it was really intense and on a really high level. I was in huge trouble in the third set but I managed somehow to win this match. I'm glad that I didn't give up," Swiatek told reporters.

"I honestly didn't believe I could win, because I would be pretty naive. 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 wasn't completely in the zone. When I was under the biggest pressure I was able to switch that and maybe that made the difference."

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