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Image Source: IANS
French Open: Osaka Brushes Past Vekic To Enter Rd 3
American Emma Navarro: Naomi Osaka secured a close victory in one of the most competitive matches of the women’s draw on Thursday, beating Croatia’s Donna Vekic 7-6(1), 6-4 after nearly two hours of intense baseline exchanges at Court Simonne-Mathieu in the French Open.
The four-time Grand Slam champion persisted with her promising comeback on clay by advancing to the third round of Roland-Garros. There, she will encounter the emerging American teenager Iva Jovic in a first-ever match between two players at very different career stages.
Although the scoreline indicated a straight-sets victory, the match was scarcely comfortable. Vekić, who won Olympic silver at last year's Paris Games, consistently pressured Osaka and even held serve to start the match, but momentum shifted markedly in the Japanese player's favour. Osaka raised her game during the tie-break, winning it 7-1, and maintained a close lead in the second set to advance to the last 32.
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