Swiatek survives match point to edge out Osaka in Paris

Iga Swiatek came through a titanic second-round clash with fellow four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka to reach the French Open third round.

Osaka looked set to pull off her biggest win in years when she led the world number one and defending champion 5-2 in the third set.

But the 26-year-old from Japan will have nightmares about a missed forehand as Swiatek survived a match point to come from brink of defeat and win 7-6 (1) 1-6 7-5.

It was a remarkable effort from Osaka, the former world number one who only returned to action after maternity leave in January.

It was only three years ago that she pulled out of the French Open, suffering from depression, and put her tennis career on hold.

She has never particularly liked playing on the clay, either, having not progressed past the third round in Paris, and is now ranked 134 in the world.

Swiatek, by contrast, has looked invincible on her best surface this season, winning her last 13 matches including titles in Madrid and Rome, and was a red-hot favourite for a third successive Roland Garros title, and a fourth in five years.

Osaka's start was not very encouraging but, broken in the first game, she settled as the opening set wore on and hit back for 4-4 and forced a set point on Swiatek's serve.

Swiatek averted that crisis and, when she took a one-sided tie-break, the game looked up for Osaka.

But the 2021 US Open champion began swinging and Swiatek started scrambling.

Roland Garros chiefs come in for criticism for not holding enough women's matched in the prime-time night session - they have not picked one so far this year - but they missed a trick with this one.

Such has been Swiatek's dominance at the tournament she had only previously dropped seven sets in five years at