Iga Swiatek holds back surging Naomi Osaka in head-spinning Roland Garros comeback

“It’s hard to have any logical thoughts,” Iga Swiatek said after her supremely entertaining 7-6 (1), 1-6, 7-5 win over Naomi Osaka at Roland Garros on Wednesday.

The sight of Swiatek walking to the net after two hours and 57 minutes as the winner, and Osaka walking there as the loser, was more than illogical. For anyone who had watched the last two sets, it would have seemed almost impossible. From the start of set two, to the moment she reached match point while serving at 5-3 in the third, Osaka had been in complete control of the proceedings.

Read More: Iga Swiatek survives battle with Naomi Osaka, wins thrilling second round at Roland Garros

The old No. 1 was doing what the current No. 1 traditionally does at this tournament. She was powering ground-stroke winners to both corners—54 of them in total—and pummeling returns an inch from the baseline. She was taking the initiative on the first shot of the rally, and smothering all attempts by the top seed to mount a counterattack. Faced with five break points while serving at 2-0 in the third set, Osaka saved them all, three of them with winners. Swiatek, used to being in total control during rallies, began to go for too much, too soon in her effort to get it back. The dirt-ball machine was glitching.

Looking back, though, we can see that there were signs of nerves creeping into Osaka’s swings. She’s a four-time Grand Slam champion, but it had been a long time since she had been in a position like this.

WATCH: Match of the year? Iga Swiatek saves match point, edges Naomi Osaka in Roland Garros second round

Up 4-1 in the third, she reached break point. One more winner and the match would essentially be over. Osaka had an open court and a look at a backhand, but she tightened up just enough to put the ball in the net. Two games later, at 5-2, she got to 0-30 on Swiatek’s serve. Again, she squandered the lead with two forehand errors—errors she hadn’t been making.

Finally, serving for the match at 5-3, Osaka went up 30-15. Once again, she made two errors to go down break point, but this time came back with a forehand winner and reached match point. Swiatek saved it by swinging a backhand return at a sharp crosscourt angle. The point, which lasted three shots, was over in a flash, and so were Osaka’s chances. She kept fighting through the final two games, but Swiatek had taken control again, and she wasn’t going to let go.

A match that looked as if it would mark the return of Osaka to the tennis mountaintop suddenly belonged to Swiatek. A match that looked sure to be the upset of the tournament now may be the match that sends Swiatek to her third straight Roland Garros title.

“It was really intense and on a really high level,” said Swiatek, who won five fewer points than Osaka. “I was in huge trouble in the third set.”

“I honestly didn’t believe I could win, because I would be pretty naive” to think that, she said. “I tried to just play better, as if I were practicing.”

Swiatek said that Osaka surprised her with her level of play.

“Even she says that she’s not playing the best tennis on clay,” Swiatek said. “So I’m not expecting anything before [this match], but her shots were really clean and really heavy today.”

This was the performance that Osaka fans and watchers, and surely Osaka herself, have been waiting for. For most of it, she was a better ball-striker on clay than the world’s best clay-courter. She showed, maybe for the first time, that her hard-court game really can translate to another surface. And maybe most important for someone who hasn’t always been in love with the sport, she savored the stage and the moment.

“It just felt really incredible, the atmosphere, and how fun I guess everyone in the crowd was having, too,” Osaka said.

“I cried when I got off the court, but then, for me, I kind of realize I was watching Iga win this tournament last year, and I was pregnant. It was just my dream to be able to play her. When I kind of think of it like that, I think I’m doing pretty well.”

Osaka said she had no regrets, claimed that she didn’t know she had a match point—“I did?” she asked a reporter with a smile. “That sucks.”—and said she hopes she doesn’t play Swiatek in the first round at the Olympics.

“Honestly I felt like this was the type of match where I had to constantly keep evolving. For me, those are the most fun matches.”

She may have coined a phrase today as well.

“I feel like I’m playing better because there were specific things I worked on to get better,” she said. “I also feel like it’s tough, because obviously the results aren’t 'resulting' right now.”

Osaka had a big result in her hands on Wednesday, but couldn’t quite hold on to it. For the first time in 2024, though, it was clear that she’s still capable of playing with—and out-playing—anyone.

We knew that about Swiatek, of course. This was a match that almost finished her Roland Garros. Will it end up, instead, being the wake-up call that takes her to another title?