Iga Swiatek, the world’s top-ranked tennis player, and Naomi Osaka might have played one of the most stressful second-round matches at the French Open fans have ever seen, and they loved every minute of it.
After a very tight first set that Iga won 7-6, Naomi stormed back to take the second set 6-1 and eventually went up 5-2 during the third set with a match point in sight.
That’s when Iga turned up the heat and WENT SCORCHED EARTH. She fully lived up to her “queen of clay” moniker and forced Osaka into some errors that eventually cleared a pathway for her to win the match with a 7-5 deciding set.
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
The match was such an amazing chess match that Naomi Osaka — who is returning from having a baby and showed impressive endurance — received a standing ovation from the crowd.
A well-deserved standing ovation 👏 @naomiosaka #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/RTlBAZ8Wkr
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 29, 2024
Tennis fans also loved how incredible the match was and showered both Iga and Naomi with praise. Here’s what they said:
What a great publicity for women's tennis 😍
Wonderful to see 🇯🇵 Naomi back with such a performance, and congrats to 🇵🇱 Iga for surviving a big upset 👏#rolandgarros https://t.co/B9SynicBWq
— Elena Rybakina Fan page (@ElenaRybakina2) May 29, 2024
Well done to both @iga_swiatek & @naomiosaka on an enthralling 🥎 match this evening @rolandgarros It was a pity one had to lose but fabulous to see Naomi back playing at top level. .Hopefully Iga you will have easier opponent in next round & good luck for rest of tournament https://t.co/fNpGyZr7gp
— PollyT🦋🐦 (@pollyt22) May 29, 2024
It was a brilliant match! I am so sad to see Naomi's loss because she was so close!!!!
Thank you ladies!! https://t.co/QV8jPEpaN1— Mitsy Smile (@MitsySmile) May 29, 2024
Tennis can be unpredictable. It proved to be so today, and @naomiosaka deserves all the praise for her performance.
Exhibiting nerves of steel, @iga_swiatek secured a remarkable victory. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 https://t.co/WvSi1o2wth
— Sim Som (@simsomdy) May 29, 2024
What a match I thought @naomiosaka was incredible, bravo. Brilliant tennis from both 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏@WTA @rolandgarros https://t.co/J9DgXdziCP
— Tania Davies (@TanJanDav) May 29, 2024
Osaka had that match in the bag.. just ran out of gas!
Great to see Naomi back in near-peak form.
Iga proved why she’s the Queen of Clay. What a gutsy comeback. https://t.co/EMxMMR8e8N
— Tyrell Jordan (@tyweezy4sheezy) May 29, 2024
3 hours of incredible tennis from 2 incredible women. Women’s match of the year for me #rolandgarros https://t.co/oNxDZegOCk
— NThomas (@NathaliejadeT) May 29, 2024
What an unbelievable match. Osaka definitely should’ve won, but Swiatek is just too good. Just great to see competitive WTA Tennis! Osaka should be one of the favorites for the next two majors! https://t.co/fuatsX5Xkx
— Alex Schlerf (@alexschlerf) May 29, 2024
