PARIS (AFP) – World number one Naomi Osaka was just two points from a sensational Roland Garros exit on Tuesday before securing her place in the second round where she was joined by defending champion Simona Halep who also needed three sets to survive.
Top seed Osaka, bidding to add the French Open to her US and Australian Open titles, defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 0-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-1.
Japan's Naomi Osaka (Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP)
However, she came within a whisker of becoming only the second top seed to lose in the first round in Paris in the modern era after Angelique Kerber in 2017.
‘‘I think this is the most nervous I have ever been my entire life during a match,’’ said Osaka.