As the absorbing, often breathless French Open second-round clash between Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka reached a thrilling finale, the social media channels of the Women’s Tennis Association summed up what most of the sport was thinking: “A match worthy of a final,” the post on X/Twitter said.
It was an instant classic between two four-time grand slam champions, played over three hours of the highest quality and drama. The defending champion and World No 1 Swiatek was forced to save match point, digging deep to extend her winning streak at Roland Garros to 13 matches, while denying Osaka her biggest victory in years. The 26-year-old, who only returned to the tour in January after giving birth to her first child, Shai, offered a tantalising reminder of her talents after 15 months away from the sport. It pointed to a bright future and renewed rivalry.
