French Open 2024: Swiatek survives Osaka scare on rain-hit day
Iga Swiatek, top seed and two-time defending champion at the French Open, survived a second-round clash against Naomi Osaka by the skin of her teeth on Wednesday.
The world No.1 had to save a match point en route to the third round, defeating Osaka 7-6 (1), 1-6, 7-5 in just under three hours on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Osaka, who has returned to the WTA Tour after giving birth to her first child last year, played her best tennis in years. The Japanese star struck eight aces, 54 winners, and broke Swiatek on five occasions.
Heading into the match, Swiatek was an enormous -2500 favourite to win, paying just -175.44 with top tennis bookmakers to lift her third Roland-Garros trophy.
However, with a 5-2, 30-0 lead in the deciding set, it seemed as though Osaka was going to pull off the biggest upset of the tournament so far. Swiatek fought her off, but Osaka had her chances, with a match point at 5-3 on her own serve.
Swiatek unhappy with crowd behaviour
There were some understandably tense moments in the second-round clash, causing members of the audience to call out during points.
This drew the ire of Swiatek, with the Pole unafraid to speak out and reprimand the Parisian crowd afterwards.
“I wanna say one thing, I’m sorry to even bring that,” Swiatek said in her post-match interview.
“I have huge respect for you guys, and I know that we are playing basically for you because this is entertainment, and we are also earning money because of you.
“But sometimes, you know, when you’re under a lot of pressure and you scream something during the rally or right before the return, it’s really, really hard to be focused.
“I usually don’t bring this up because I want to be this kind of player that is really in the zone and really focused.
“But this is serious for us, we’re fighting our whole lives to be better and better and sometimes it’s hard to accept that.
“The stakes are big, and there’s a lot of money here to win. Losing a few points may change a lot.
“Please guys, if you can support us between the rallies but not during, that would be really, really amazing.”
Surprisingly, the French crowd responded well to Swiatek’s request, giving the 22-year-old a hearty round of applause.
Whether or not her message was taken on board remains to be seen, with Swiatek next playing at the French Open on Friday against either Jana Fett or Marie Bouzkova in the third round.
You may also like
Join the Betting Planet team!
Are you passionate about sports betting? Sports news writers required TODAY!
Experienced preferred but not essential. (All apps considered).
View Careers at Race MediaTop Online Casinos
Latest Betting News
- NZ thrash Pakistan to make Women’s T20 World Cup semi-finals
- Kyrgios eyeing Grand Slam success as comeback looms
- McGregor set to fight Hooker on UFC return in February 2025
- Sinner bolsters No.1 ranking with Shanghai Masters title
- Buffalo Bills @ NY Jets tips, odds & predictions | Week 6 preview
- India break record for highest-ever T20I total against Bangladesh
- Cricket: England complete historic victory over Pakistan
- NFL Sunday betting picks, top props & predictions | Week 6, 2024
- UFC Fight Night main card preview & top picks | Royval v Taira
- Royval v Taira betting picks & odds | UFC Fight Night main event
Casino Guides
- Safest online casino jurisdictions
- How to guides
- How to win at pokies
- How to play online pokies
- PaysafeCard online casino deposits
- MasterCard Online Casinos
- Online Casinos Accepting POLi
- 32Red Casino Review
- All Slots Casino Review
- Boombet Casino review
- Horse racing games at casinos
- Credit card deposits at online casinos
- Films about blackjack
- Live dealer casinos
- How to play live dealer blackjack party
- Online Blackjack
- Top online casinos 2024
- Online casino deposits
- MasterCard Online Casinos
- Online Casinos Accepting POLi
- PaysafeCard online casino deposits
- Online slots
- Playing Pai Gow Poker on the Internet
- Online keno
- Online poker
- Online poker tournament structures
- Real money online roulette 2024
- Online multi-wheel roulette – what is it?
- How to play online scratch cards in 2024
- Sit & Go online poker tournaments
- Skrill e-wallet deposits at online casinos
- Visa online casino deposits
Sports Betting Guides
Casino Games
Deposits & Withdrawals
Football
Basketball
Top Country Betting sites
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Australia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Brazil
- Canada
- Dominican Republic
- Germany
- Ghana
- Grenada
- India
- Indonesia
- Italy
- Kenya
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Ireland
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nigeria
- Norway
- Philippines
- Singapore
- South Africa
- Turkey
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Vietnam
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe