Naomi Osaka once again dazzled Roland Garros with her outfit choice and on-court talent as she beat American teenager Iva Jovic in the fourth round of the French Open and set up a meeting with world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
Osaka dug deep for a hard-fought 7-6(7-5) 6-7(3-7) 6-4 victory over 17th seed Jovic with just over 3 hours and 2 minutes remaining, while Sabalenka had a more comfortable afternoon as she disposed of Australian Daria Kasatkina 6-0 7-5.
Osaka’s decision to compete in a gold sequined top and skirt in Paris drew criticism from her first-round opponent Laura Siegemund. “I’m not here to see the fashion show,” she said after ending the tournament with back-to-back losses to the four-time Grand Slam champion.
But that didn’t deter Osaka, who added a variety of variations to her outfit as she hit the court for each round, this time wearing a tannish gold train and a metallic gold bomber jacket.
Osaka had another new variation of her gold sequined outfit when she walked the court for Saturday’s game.
After advancing to the fourth round of the French Open for the first time in her career, Osaka said in an on-court interview, “I’m surprised every time.”
The former world number one squandered two set points at 6-5 in the first set and needed three more sets before taking the opening match in a tie-break.
It was a similar situation in the second set, with both players each getting a break, but this time Jovic won the breaker to force a deciding set.
The third was again on a razor’s edge, with Jovic refusing to buckle and matching Osaka’s power blow to the blow, with Osaka converting on the American’s serve to create match point at 5-4 and book a meeting with Sabalanka in the last 16.
“Today I was much calmer than the first few games,” Osaka said. “I think at Slams the further I go, the calmer I become because it’s such a privilege to be here.
“I’ve never been to the fourth round of Roland Garros. This is my first time, so I’m really grateful.”
Aryna Sabalenka has three wins so far at Roland-Garros and is yet to drop a set.
In a tournament so far full of upsets, especially the men’s draw, Sabalenka stormed the first set against Kasatkina, restoring order without dropping the game.
Kasatkina, ranked 53rd in the world, broke to start the second set and halted the match, but Sabalenka quickly restored parity with a 2-2 break.
The four-time Grand Slam champion stayed in touch and turned up the intensity late on to claim her eighth win in 10 meetings.
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