Naomi Osaka of Japan reacts as she performs in opposition to Donna Vekic of Croatia throughout their second spherical girls’s singles tennis match on the French Open tennis match in Paris, Thursday, Could 28, 2026. (AP Photograph/Thibault Camus)
PARIS–Naomi Osaka superior to the third spherical of the French Open for the primary time in seven years Thursday with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 win over Croatia’s Donna Vekic.
4-time Grand Slam champion Osaka will subsequent tackle American teenager Iva Jovic as each gamers try to achieve the final 16 at Roland Garros for the primary time.
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Osaka, seeded sixteenth, retrieved an early break in opposition to Vekic after which broke again once more when her opponent was serving for the primary set.
The Japanese star dominated a tie-break and got here up with the decisive break late within the second set to place away the 72nd-ranked Vekic.
Osaka’s run to the US Open semi-finals final yr is the one time she has made the second week of a serious since her final Grand Slam triumph on the 2021 Australian Open.
The previous world primary returned to the courts in early 2024 after a yr out following the start of her daughter.
