Naomi Osaka bails herself out again to topple Azarenka at French Open

With her back against the wall, world No. 1 Naomi Osaka continues to confirm the heart and hunger of a champion.

In a highly-anticipated meeting, Osaka overcame Victoria Azarenka, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, to reach the third round of the French Open on Thursday. Osaka was down a set and a break, before cleaning up her hitting to deliver an impressive comeback victory in two hours and 50 minutes.

"I feel like I didn't dip at all during this match, and she was just playing so well. I was just waiting for her to get a little bit tired," Osaka said. "I think she did towards the end of the second set and the third set. So that's when I just tried to really accelerate on how fast I was sort of winning the points."

Osaka has won 16 consecutive matches in Grand Slam play, having lifted the past two major trophies at the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open. The 21-year-old is seeking her first clay-court title, and a win over Katerina Siniakova would clinch Osaka's best Roland Garros result. Siniakova knocked out 29th-seeded Maria Sakkari, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (10), 6-3.

Much like her first-round match with Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Osaka began nervously, losing the first four games to the locked-in Azarenka. After getting on the board, Osaka raised her level, combining with the Belarusian to produce a standard of tennis worthy of two Grand Slam champions on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Heavy exchanges soon unfolded, with both women aggressively looking to end points and punishing anything that landed short and sat up. Azarenka employed her down-the-line placements to great effect early—especially on the backhand side—and positively improved her second serve success rate from her first match for a set and a half. Like the top seed has frequently displayed, Osaka’s best tennis emerged when her time in Paris was on the ropes.

"After a certain point, I don't even look at the score. I just try to take it point by point," said Osaka. "I have this mindset that I feel like I can win if it gets down to the wire. If I have to break a person, I feel like I have the ability to do that."

In a game that saw five deuces, Osaka wiped away three points that would have enabled Azarenka to move ahead 5-3, before the former semifinalist double faulted to hand the break back. The weight of Osaka’s hitting was felt by her opponent as the match went on, eventually taking its toll. On her fourth set point, Osaka nailed her 26th winner of the set, clipping the line with a redirected backhand to level the clash.

Azarenka traded in her jacket for a sleeveless top and returned to court following an 11-minute break. For the second set in a row, Osaka found herself in immediate danger, but confidently reached back to unload powerfully placed serves for a crucial hold. The gutsy Japanese then took command until serving for the match at 5-1.

Osaka's tenacious opponent refused to give in. Azarenka earned a break point for a shot at pulling to 4-5; the two-time Australian Open champion opted not to stop play on a second serve that appeared long (Hawk-Eye unofficially confirmed this) and the chair umpire did not interject with an overrule. Azarenka's window to stay alive soon closed.

"I believe I didn't take some of my chances where I had, but I felt that the margin of opportunity was very little for both of us today," said Azarenka. "I didn't push enough through, which is something that I need to learn from."

Osaka improved to 10-2 in three-setters this season, while Azarenka lost for the seventh time in 11 attempts.  Osaka finished with a +9 differential, hitting 52 winners to 43 unforced errors.