Naomi Osaka is so close to beating defending champion Iga Swiatek in the second round of the 2024 French Open.
However, in the end the Japanese tennis player lost in three sets which made him teary-eyed.
Both players have won four Grand Slam titles each and a high-quality match is guaranteed when they meet in the second round of the French Open. In a match between the former world number 1 tennis player and the current world number 1 tennis player, the match was highly anticipated even before the match started.
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Swiatek won the first set in approximately 1 hour after saving a set point opportunity at 4-5. But the Japanese tennis player did not give up and fought hard to get back up, including breaking the Polish player three times in a one-sided second set after he had only lost one game.
At that time, Japanese tennis players were better players and played with confidence. The tennis player, who already has one woman, maintained momentum in the third set by building a 3-0 lead.
However, several unusual mistakes from the Japanese national at 5-4 gave Swiatek a breath of fresh air. He created one match point opportunity and it went as fast as lightning for the Japanese national who had to see the first seed come back and win five games in a row from 2-5.
The former world number 1 received a standing ovation from the crowd as he left the court and his coaching team could hardly believe that he had let a match point chance slip from his grasp.
“I cried when I left the court, but then I realized that I watched Iga win this tournament last season when I was pregnant. Being able to compete against him is a dream for me. When I think about it like that, I think I did it well,” explained Osaka.
However, despite the sad defeat, the Japanese tennis player is still enthusiastic about her performance after only five months after returning to competition following her maternity leave. He admitted that he kept a personal notebook where he wrote down positive affirmations that would lift his mood.
“I have my little notebook, right? So, this time in it I just wrote, ‘I’m proud of you’ and I think for me, saying that to myself gives myself a lot of strength because usually, not usually, but sometimes I curse myself in my mind me and it’s quite a negative feeling. “I can say I am proud of this journey and I hope it will be more and more positive,” continued Naomi Osaka.
