Naomi Osaka produced one of the most meaningful victories of her career on Friday, defeating Iva Jovic 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4 to reach the fourth round at Roland-Garros for the first time.
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The nearly three-hour battle on Court Suzanne-Lenglen ended a remarkable drought for the four-time Grand Slam champion, who had never advanced beyond the third round at any non-hard-court major in her 12-year professional career. All four of her Grand Slam titles came on hard courts: the US Open (2018, 2020) and Australian Open (2019, 2021).
Against Jovic, the 18-year-old American 17th seed who reached the Australian Open quarterfinals earlier this year, Osaka needed every ounce of composure. She took the first-set tiebreak 7-5, lost the second 3-7, then found the decisive break in the third to close out 6-4.
Osaka is the first Japanese woman to reach the Roland-Garros round of 16 in singles since Shinobu Asagoe in 2004. She will face world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka next, after the Belarusian dispatched Daria Kasatkina 6-0, 7-5 earlier in the day.
