The 2024 French Open delivered another tense, memorable chapter on Saturday, as four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka fought past 18-year-old American prospect Iva Jovic in a riveting three-set third-round clash to keep her dream of a Paris title alive. The 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4 win marked the furthest Osaka has ever advanced at Roland Garros, extending a historic run that has already defied expectations for the 16th-seeded Japanese star.
Osaka once again turned heads before the first ball even landed on Court Suzanne Lenglen, making a typically dramatic entrance in a glittering gold outer ensemble: a sequined gold jacket paired with a flowing gold train, offset by soft pink tennis sneakers and a black branded visor. Once play began under the bright sun of Paris’ lingering late-season heatwave, she shed the outer layers to reveal a matching gold tennis dress that sparkled across the court, turning her pre-match entrance into one of the tournament’s most talked-about moments. When asked after the win whether more bold, themed outfits were waiting in her hotel wardrobe for upcoming matches, Osaka teased fans with a smile, saying only that every tournament appearance would bring a new surprise.
The match itself was a tightly contested battle of serves, with both players grabbing early breaks of serve in the opening set before locking in to force a first-set tiebreak. Osaka claimed the tight opening tiebreak to take the lead, but the 18-year-old Jovic refused to back down, stepping up her aggressive baseline play to force a second-set tiebreak that she won comfortably to level the match. The decider stayed on serve through the first nine games, before Osaka landed a series of aggressive returns to claim the decisive break in the 10th game, closing out the match when Jovic sent a forehand long on the first match point. Jovic opened the final game with a blistering 162kph ace, but crumbled under pressure from Osaka’s consistent, sharp returns, missing two shots into the net before the final errant shot that sealed Osaka’s spot in the fourth round.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Osaka highlighted her improved mental composure compared to her earlier matches at this year’s tournament, noting that she grows calmer the deeper she advances into a Grand Slam. The 28-year-old has claimed four Grand Slam singles titles to date — two Australian Opens and two US Opens — but had never advanced past the third round at Roland Garros before this year’s run. “It’s such an honour to be here,” Osaka said. “It’s the furthest I have ever been here.”
She also credited her consistent serve as the key to getting past the young, aggressive Jovic, who put heavy pressure on Osaka’s second serve throughout the match. “I am really glad it was working,” she said. “Against some players you need to put your serve in and she was very aggressive on my second serve.”
Osaka will now wait to learn her next opponent, who will be either world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka or unseeded Australian Daria Kasatkina, who faced off in their third-round match later on Saturday.