Osaka led 5-2 and 30-0 in the deciding set and set up a match point at 5-3 but couldn’t finish the job against the two-time defending champion. With rain washing away a large chunk of play on the other courts, Swiatek and Osaka put on a spectacle under the Court Philippe Chatrier roof, with the Japanese star playing arguably her greatest match on her least favourite surface.
It was only Osaka’s second grand slam tournament since becoming a mother last year, with the 26-year-old knocked out in the first round at the Australian Open in January. And the Japanese star came within one point of causing the biggest upset in the women’s draw so far, only for Swiatek to lift as her opponent began to falter.
