Naomi Osaka showed her resilience to defeat Victoria Azarenka 4-6 7-5 6-3 to reach the third round at Roland Garros.
The world number one showed grit to defeat a former grand slam champion in Azarenka as she battled into the third round.
It was a tough loss for the Belarusian, who was so close from making the last 32 but couldn’t cope with Osaka in the final set.
Next for the world number one is Katerina Siniakova after her three hour win over Maria Sakkari.
It was another slow start from the world number one as just like her first match lost the opening four games to the confident Belarusian.
Only Osaka’s movement looked superior with Azarenka dominating every other aspect of the match in the opening stages.
Playing doubles with partner Ashleigh Barty has seemed to help Azarenka’s confidence lately and was striking the ball fearlessly, controlling the baseline at all times.
However as the first set moved on, the top seed started to find some rythym and high-quality angles as she looked to force the errors out of her opponent.
There was some tightness from the former world number one towards the end of the set as Osaka started to add variety, but ultimately the slow start cost her.
On the second time of asking, the world number 43 secured the opening set 6-4 in 41 minutes with a powerful first serve.
The momentum was with Osaka at the beginning of the second as she started to really attack the second serve of the Belarusian and created three break points.
But as often is the case, Azarenka remained firm and started to pummel her backhands into the corners of the court as she prevented the break from occurring.
This gave the unseeded Belarusian confidence as she broke in the next game and consolidated towards a 4-2 lead and one foot in the third round.
But if there’s one thing we know about Osaka, it’s how much determination she has as a world number one and these qualities helped her fight back into the match.
After saving break point, to avoid a double break lead, Osaka started to construct points better and land the first strike in the contest.
This lead to some more nervy serving from Azarenka as a double fault handed the break to the Japanese star who was rewarded for her fighting qualities.
The match had turned into a high-quality affair now as both hit ridiculous passing shots and Azarenka was showing her wonderful net skills again.
Every point matters.
Incredible get from @vika7!#RG19 pic.twitter.com/kNckGbReGk
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2019
Although she managed to stop the consecutive games against her, the former Australian Open champion couldn’t stop Osaka’s willpower as she broke again to take the second set.
After a 15 minute toilet break, the final set saw Osaka play at a ridiculous level of tennis as she counter-attacked Azarenka’s power and depth.
Screams of positivity and belief saw Osaka will her way to a double break lead at 5-1 as Azarenka grew frustrated at the situation she had now found herself in.
A min-comeback from Azarenka nearly secured the double break back but Osaka remained resilient saved break point at 5-3 and clinched a confidence-boosting victory.
Comeback complete.@Naomi_Osaka_ secures a place in the third round 4-6 7-5 6-3 over Azarenka.#RG19 pic.twitter.com/gjOUsw7qId
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2019
It was a match that showed Naomi Osaka’s qualities as a world number one as she edged back a very good Victoria Azarenka.
Next up for the top seed is either Katerina Siniakova, who knocked out the 29th seed Maria Sakkari 7-6(5) 6-7(8) 6-3.
