French Open day four: Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka involved in classic encounter

Carlos Alcaraz laboured to a four-set victory over Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong.

Wednesday 29 May 2024 22:44 BST

Iga Swiatek marched on in Paris (Jean-Francois Badias/AP) (AP)

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Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka served up a genuine classic, with the current world number one just edging out the former world number one.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz laboured to a four-set victory over Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong.

Here, the PA news agency looks back at day four at the French Open.

Picture of the day

Match of the day…

…and the tournament. Swiatek came through a titanic second-round clash with fellow four-time grand-slam champion Osaka to reach the third round. Osaka looked set to pull off her biggest win in years when she led the defending champion 5-2 in the third set. But the 26-year-old from Japan will have nightmares about a missed forehand as Swiatek survived a match point to come from brink of defeat and win 7-6 (1) 1-6 7-5.

Quote of the day

When you scream something during the rally or right before the return, it’s really, really hard to be focused

Iga Swiatek was not happy with the crowd

Moan of the day

The Paris weather is not playing ball so far this week, and there was hardly any play possible on the outside courts on day four. Only nine matches were completed, all under the two roofs. The forecast does not look likely to improve over the coming days either.

Brit watch

Nothing to see here, at least until the doubles starts. Andy Murray and Dan Evans should be fun, if they ever get on the court. Katie Boulter and Heather Watson have also been pushed back until Thursday, at the earliest.

Fallen seeds

Caroline Garcia (21)

Who’s up next?

Defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic is the main event, taking on Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena. Women’s second seed Aryna Sabalenka meets Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima.

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