Osaka edges Vekic in two tight sets, sets Roland Garros meeting with Jovic

No. 16 seed Naomi Osaka will face No. 17 seed Iva Jovic for the first time in the third round of Roland Garros after both came through their second-round matches in straight sets.

Osaka had to stay focused throughout a 7-6(1), 6-4 win over Donna Vekic, a tight contest that hung in the balance for almost every moment of its 1-hour, 50-minute duration. By contrast, Jovic avenged a three-set loss to Navarro last week in Strasbourg in emphatic fashion, racing through 6-0, 6-3 in 1 hour and 18 minutes.

Osaka advances to the French Open third round for the fourth time overall, but first since 2019. Jovic, the second-youngest player to receive direct entry to the main draw this year, has made that stage for the first time at her second attempt. The 18-year-old reached her first Grand Slam third round en route to the Australian Open quarterfinals this January.

Osaka raises her game on big points to edge Vekic

For much of Osaka's third career meeting with Vekic -- who claimed the Olympic silver medal on the Roland Garros courts in 2024 -- there was nothing to choose between the two big-hitters. Osaka finished with just one more winner than the Croatian, 28 to 27, and one more unforced error as well -- 33 to 32. They hadn't played in seven years, but their last meeting had gone down to the wire -- a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4) victory for Osaka in the 2019 Stuttgart quarterfinals.

So there was little surprise that neither player found the sustained momentum to pull away from the other at any point on Thursday -- Vekic took a 3-1 lead in the first set, but thereafter neither player had more than a one-game advantage over her opponent. Ultimately, it came down to execution on the most important points, and four-time major champion Osaka delivered. The Japanese player was also aided by her superior serving -- she landed 62% of her first deliveries compared to Vekic's 51%, and won 71% of those points compared to Vekic's 59%.

No. 72-ranked Vekic came into Roland Garros with just a 5-6 record at tour level in 2026, though she did reach the Istanbul WTA 125 final at the start of this month. She sprinkled several excellent drop shots through the match to keep Osaka off balance, but was undone by her unreliability on serve when ahead. At 3-2 in the first set, Vekic dropped serve to love after spraying a series of errors; serving at 5-4, she dug herself into a 0-30 hole with a double fault, and Osaka nailed a backhand winner to level.

With her back to the wall, Vekic found some of her best hitting to save three set points down 6-5 and force a tiebreak -- but once there, another sequence of cheap forehand errors followed.

The start of the second set remained narrowly contested -- both players held from break point down, then exchanged breaks -- but at the end of the set, it was Osaka who elevated her game again. At 4-4, 30-30, the former World No. 1 found consecutive winners off the drive volley and inside-out forehand to break. Serving out the match, she saved a break-back point with a backhand down the line, then sealed victory with consecutive unreturned serves.

Jovic turns the tables on Navarro in Paris rematch

Jovic, who was ranked No. 129 this time last year, has proven herself a quick learner as she has raised her ranking by 112 places over the past 12 months. The teenager had clearly grasped the lessons from her 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 defeat at the hands of American compatriot Navarro in the second round of Strasbourg the previous week.

Swarming the net and attacking her returns without hesitation, she sprinted to a 6-0, 3-0 lead. Navarro won just nine points in the first set, and only held game point once, in her first service game. Even serving three aces in one game, as Navarro did in the second game of the second set, couldn't stop the relentless Jovic.

Navarro finally managed to stem the tide for a three-game run to level at 3-3, during which she successfully managed to extend rallies and lure Jovic into error. But Jovic stayed sharp to avoid the match turning, steadying herself with a solid hold for 4-3 before surging over the finishing line.