Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Naomi Osaka once again lit up Roland-Garros with her choice of clothes and her talent to defeat American teenager Eva Jovic in the fourth round of the French Open.
Osaka had to dig deep for a 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 win over 17th-seeded Jovic, in a match lasting two minutes under the three-hour mark, while Sabalenka had a more relaxed afternoon to dispose of Australia’s Daria Kasatkina 6-7-50.
Osaka’s decision to play in a gold sequined top and skirt in Paris drew criticism from her first-round opponent Laura Sigmund, who said She “wasn’t here at a fashion show.” After bowing out of the tournament with a straight sets loss to the four-time Grand Slam champion.
But that didn’t deter Osaka, who added several variations to her outfit as she walked onto the court for each round, a metallic gold bomber jacket this time offset by a tannish-gold train.
Osaka made another change to her gold sequined dress as she walked onto the court for her match on Saturday
Osaka: Wearing a normal tennis kit would be even weirder
“It’s a surprise every time,” Osaka said of her fashion choices, after reaching the fourth round of the French Open for the first time in her career.
“For a long time, I didn’t have fun for a bit. And you guys know that period of my life,” Osaka added, explaining how she withdrew from the French Open in 2021 due to anxiety and depression.
“Now I want to make things fun, and I want to make it exciting for myself. For me, at this point almost, wearing a normal tennis kit would be weirder.”
Osaka squandered two set points at 6-5 in the first set and needed three more before taking the opener in a tie-break.
It was a similar story in the second set, with both players earning a break apiece, but Jovic won the breaker this time to force a decider.
The third was again on a razor’s edge, with Jovic refusing to buckle and matching Osaka’s power for blow after blow, until the former world No. 1 carved out a match point at the American’s service 5-4 and converted to book a meeting with Sabalanka in the last 16.
“Today I was a lot calmer than my first few matches,” Osaka said. “I think at the Slams, I’m getting more and more calm as I go – because it’s such a privilege to be here.
“I’ve never been to the fourth round of Roland-Garros before. It’s my first time; I’m really grateful.”
Sabalenka restored order among the seeds with a dominant win
Aryna Sabalenka has yet to drop a set through her three wins at Roland-Garros
In a tournament filled with upsets so far – especially in the men’s draw – Sabalenka restored some order when she stormed into the first set against Kasatkina without dropping a game.
Kasatkina, ranked 53rd in the world, broke against the run of play to start the second set, but Sabalenka would quickly break to level at 2-2.
The four-time Grand Slam champion stayed in touch before dialing back late on to complete his eighth win in 10 meetings between the pair.
“It was definitely a great week,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview afterward. “I’m happy to get through the second week, happy with my level, and to be able to handle the fight that he brought and get the win in straight sets.”
The 28-year-old was then reminded that it was her 100th win as world No. 1, making her the ninth player to achieve the feat since the WTA rankings began.
“I got goosebumps,” said Sabalenka, who joins Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles, Justine Henin and Iga Suatek in achieving the feat.
“It means the world to me and I’m glad I stayed strong in the tough moments. I was fighting and never gave up and that’s what got me through.
“I am extremely proud of myself and my team. We have reached an amazing level that seemed impossible.”
Watch the ATP and WTA tours on Sky Sports or live Stream with NOW And The Sky Sports appSky Sports is giving subscribers access to more than 50 per cent of live games at no extra cost this year. Learn more here.
