Osaka secures hard-fought victory in opener at Roland Garros

PARIS (AP) — On the first day of the 2024 French Open, Naomi Osaka marked her seventh appearance in Paris with a 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 first-round victory over Lucia Bronzetti.

“There were moments I played pretty well, but I was pretty nervous and got really tight,” said the No. 134-ranked Osaka of her hard-fought victory during an on-court interview.

Osaka secured her first victory in a Grand Slam tournament since 2022. She made her comeback in January after a maternity leave.

Osaka advanced to what could be a matchup against No. 1 Iga Swiatek, the three-time French Open winner and defending champion who plays her first-round match Monday.

“I think it’s an honor to play her in the French Open because she’s won here more than once”, Osaka said when asked about the prospect of playing Swiatek.

No. 48-ranked Bronzetti has never won at Roland Garros in three appearances. Her career record in Grand Slam tournaments is 3-10. In her most recent match at the Morocco Open quarterfinals last week, she led American Peyton Stearns 5-0 in the third set but ended up losing.