PARIS, May 30 (Reuters) – Former world number one Naomi Osaka dazzled with an all-gold outfit but had to dig deep for a hard-fought 7-6(5) 6-7(3) 6-4 victory over American teenager Iva Jovic on Saturday to reach the French Open fourth round for the first time.
Playing in a gold sequined top and skirt – her latest fashion statement in Paris – the four-time Grand Slam champion found it hard going from the start, with the American teenager’s brutal shot-making dulling her opponent’s sparkle.
The Japanese 16th seed, however, kept her composure to avoid a third-set tiebreak as she sealed victory.
“I think I’m just a lot calmer now,” Osaka told a press conference after setting up a last-16 showdown with top seed Aryna Sabalenka.
“I feel like in the previous years I just wanted it so much and now, obviously I do want it, but I accept that it’s a process, and maybe it will eventually come and maybe it won’t. I just have to enjoy it while it lasts.”
Osaka, who has turned heads once more with a variety of haute couture-inspired outfits for her matches in Paris, initially looked surprised by the teenager’s precision and power.
The 18-year-old Jovic looked completely at ease on Court Suzanne Lenglen despite her lack of big-stage experience as she pushed Osaka to a first-set tiebreak.
Osaka had wasted two set points at 6-5 and needed three more before subduing the American 7-5 in the tiebreak.
It was a similar story in the second set, with a break apiece and Jovic winning the second tiebreak to level.
The third set was again on a razor’s edge, with Jovic refusing to buckle and matching Osaka’s power blow for blow. But the Japanese carved out a match point at 5-4 on the American’s serve and converted it to move into the next round.
“She was pretty aggressive. You just have to account for it. You can’t necessarily let it stress you out. You just have to keep going,” Osaka said.
“I think younger players are some of the scariest players to play because they have no fear.
“I just hoped that my veteran status could shine a little bit in some moments, and I think it did.”
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann. Editing by Mark Potter and Pritha Sarkar)
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