Paris ¨C Former world No. 1 ?Naomi Osaka made another dazzling entry at the French Open on Thursday, but she was made to work hard to avoid an early exit??in a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 victory over ?Croatian Donna ?Vekic in the second round.
Osaka, who wore a sequined waistcoat blouse and black mesh train over her layered yellow-brown ?and gold match dress in the opening round, arrived ?for the contest with Vekic with?a white floor-length flared train over ?her outfit.
On another ?blazing day in Paris, the Japanese player traded breaks freely with ?Vekic in ?the opening set on Court Simonne ?Mathieu, before finding her best form ?during ?the tiebreak to prevail.
Down a set, Paris Olympic?silver medalist Vekic began to ?deploy a series of drop shots to trouble Osaka early in the second set, but her challenge fizzled out as she surrendered her serve ?in ?the ninth game.
Osaka saved ?a break point in the next game to ?close out the win in 1 hour, 50 minutes, reaching the third round for the first time since 2019.
She ?will face 16th seed Iva Jovic in the third round, after the American beat compatriot Emma Navarro 6-0, 6-3 earlier.
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