Iga Swiatek survives Naomi Osaka at French Open: 3 reasons classic encounter was so close
Iga Swiatek survives.
The world No 1 was at the very brink of defeat in an extraordinary French Open encounter against Naomi Osaka – but battled through to keep her title defence alive.
Osaka – currently ranked 134th in the world – nearly lost in round one but, playing so freely, almost pulled off a seismic win here.
But Swiatek is a three-time Roland Garros winner for a reason and came from 2-5 down in the decider to prevail 7-6(1), 1-6, 7-5 – saving a match point when the Japanese served for it at 5-4 up.
Here, we analyse three key reasons why this contest was so tight.
Indoor conditions
It has been raining cats and dogs in Paris all day, with tournament organisers surely thankful that they have two roofs to get at least some matches completed.
Swiatek was still a heavy favourite for victory, but the roof being on over Court Philippe Chatrier certainly worked to Osaka’s advantage.
Steady, unchanging conditions hugely help her game style, allowing her more reliability around her serve and huge groundstrokes – particularly her forehand, which was on fire.
It also helps speed up conditions on the famed court, which certainly adds extra zip to her ballstriking, and put Swiatek a little more on the back foot throughout significant chunks of the contest.
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Osaka’s improved movement
Osaka is not a natural clay courter, and she has had to learn a lot since her return to the surface this season.
What has been most noticeable in recent weeks, particularly at the Italian Open in Rome, is that she has slowly been moving better on the clay, going against her traditional grain and learning to slide on the dirt.
THE GREAT ESCAPE
Iga Swiatek stays alive after an amazing match against former world number 1 Naomi Osaka!#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/pNLmxidyf0
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 29, 2024
That was certainly evident on Wednesday, as she looked more like a natural clay mover than ever before: not an insignificant feat against an all-time great of the surface.
The improved movement allowed her to put Swiatek on the back foot by chasing down more balls, and she also got to enough shots to unleash some fierce groundstrokes – which the Pole was unable to deal with at times.
Swiatek’s tactical struggles – which she fixed when it mattered
This was not a clean match from Swiatek – even if Osaka deserves credit for how well she played.
Swiatek’s forehand, in particular, looked shaky, particularly in the middle of the third set, but tactical issues were her downfall at stages.
She was unable to read where Osaka was directing her groundstrokes and, perhaps most crucially, was unable to read the Japanese’s serve at times.
But she is the ‘Queen of Clay’ for a reason.
Admittedly, Osaka got a little nervous, but Swiatek stayed composed at the end of the contest and suddenly clicked into gear when it mattered.
She will be tough to stop after coming through such a match.
