Osaka digs deep to defeat Tig in French Open first round
TOKYO —To the pleasure and displeasure of many, depending on who you ask, Naomi Osaka has made her choice. She has resolved to speak only with her tennis racquet for the time being and in her first match at Roland Garros since 2019, she did so successfully. Osaka, the second seed, moved into the second round with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over No 63 Patricia Maria Tig.
It marked a helpful start after an unsatisfactory period for her on clay. Osaka is a dominant 23-1 on hard courts since the pandemic hiatus, but on clay she is just 2-2. She has frequently cited her decision not to compete in juniors as one of the reasons for her unfamiliarity on the surface.
Clay-court tennis produces numerous impediments for a big hitting, fast court player like Osaka. The surface blunts her power and lessens the effect of her serve while rewarding topspin and those who master the specific movement on the surface. However, this encounter underlined that her own movement remains her main obstacle.
From early in the match, Osaka opted for the one plan that was sure to protect her unsure movement: she took control every time she could. Osaka struck 39 winners in total. She finished with 89% of points won on her first serve despite only one ace, demonstrating how effective it is at setting up quick serve plus forehand combinations, regardless of the surface.
As the match endured, however, the Romanian began to impose herself. Tig, ranked 63rd, took more risks from the baseline, she landed more blows and she disrupted Osaka with ample drop shots. While Osaka entered the match attempting to slide, albeit awkwardly, into the majority of shots, the longer periods spent on the back foot exposed her lack of confidence in her movement. She slowly began to revert to taking inefficient steps each time she changed direction. She closed out the second tiebreak set only because her serving and firepower was consistent enough to see her through.
In the end, she opted only for the fluff on-court interview with former player Fabrice Santoro. He asked three questions: on Mothers’ day, on returning to Roland Garros and about how she adapts her game to clay. The third question was perhaps the type she had hoped to avoid and she evaded it well: “I’d say it is a workin-progress,” she said. —