Naomi Osaka is into the second week of Roland Garros after grinding past Iva Jovic 7-6(5) 6-7(3) 6-4 in three hours.
The former world number one is into the last 16 of Roland Garros for the first time in her career after a long battle with the 18 year-old.
A crucial break of serve at the end of the match secured the win as Osaka’s revival continues in Paris.
Osaka will now await world number one Aryna Sabalenka or Daria Kasatkina.
It was a good start from both players as they were trying to outsmart each other with this being the first meeting.
However, it was Jovic who took advantage of some inconsistent second serves from Osaka who broke first for a 3-2 lead.
There was an immediate response from Osaka though who made Jovic move all around the court with the forehand doing significant damage as she broke back.
Both players exchanged brutal shots from the baseline with Jovic targeting the Osaka backhand with good effect.
However, Osaka was better on the bigger points as she pushed for the break late in the opening set and created two set points in the twelfth game.
Jovic held firm to force the first tiebreak which was dominated by Osaka but a late comeback from the American raised tensions in Osaka’s game.
In the end, Osaka took the tiebreak 7-5 and was rewarded for taking more risks throughout the set.
Things were not looking good for Jovic who had lost her attacking intent in the second set which allowed Osaka to step into her backhand as she broke for a 2-1 lead.
The Jovic defense was superior though and she was able to force out some unforced errors from Osaka as the American immediately broke back.
Neither player was reckless in their approach as a controlled aggression was the successful strategy for both players.
A second tiebreak was created which Jovic was more accurate and aggressive as she took the tiebreak 7-3 to level the match at one set all.
In the deciding set there was nothing to seperate the two players as Jovic added some variety on serve to throw Osaka off her game.
However, Osaka was the more effective on serve as she put pressure on Jovic’s serve with the American’s second serve.
Eventually a more clinical Osaka was able to extract a crucial unforced error from Jovic to book her place in the last 16.
Jovic will come back stronger as she gains more and more experience but she was too erratic in the crucial moments.
As for Osaka she will now face Aryna Sabalenka or Daria Kasatkina in what is her beste ever result at Roland Garros.
