Confidence boost: Paula Badosa finds form with hard-fought victory over Naomi Osaka

Paula Badosa emerged victorious from her first-round clash against Naomi Osaka at the French Open by 6-7(1), 6-1, 6-4. In an unprecedented encounter, the Spaniard brought her best tennis to overcome the four-time Grand Slam champion in one of the day's most attractive matches, which certainly lived up to expectations.

Curiously, they had never faced each other before. The world No. 10 arrived with some doubts after a recurrence of her back injury, which kept her out for almost two months. She returned at the Strasbourg Open feeling physically better, but not yet displaying a high level of tennis. Meanwhile, Osaka was in inspired form, with eight wins in her last nine matches and reaching the Round of 16 at the Rome Open.

In the first set, neither player found much consistency with their serve, both below 60% on first serve in. However, their effectiveness was enough to stay solid from the service line in the early part, with Badosa looking slightly superior in this aspect.

The first break points for the Spaniard came in the fifth game, but she couldn't convert them. The Japanese player reacted quickly, creating an opportunity, but this time Badosa pulled ahead, and everything remained even until 5-5 with no breaks from either side.

However, the No. 10 secured the break at the decisive moment and went up 6-5 with the chance to close the set on her serve. It was of little use, as she squandered a set point, and Osaka eventually recovered the break to send everything to a tie-break. This time, the early advantage of the former world No. 1 was enough to take the tie-break smoothly, 7-6(7-1).

The Japanese player couldn't maintain her momentum, and Badosa was able to reset mentally quickly. The second set was far from the balanced nature of the first, with Badosa conceding only five points on her serve (77% service points won) and 57% on return points.

Two consecutive breaks – largely due to Osaka's errors – put Badosa ahead, who easily defended her service games to race to a 5-0 lead. Although Osaka saved the honor of the set with a single defended service game, Badosa ultimately closed the set impeccably with her serve. Both players had eight winners each, but Osaka had 15 unforced errors, far more than the Spaniard's four.

The rollercoaster continued when, at the start of the third set, Osaka secured a break and took a 2-0 lead, while signs of frustration appeared from Badosa. There followed passages of inconsistency from both players, where once again Osaka took the lead in unforced errors.

Badosa managed to recover the break and bring everything back to 2-2. Shortly after, she faced a break point down 2-3 but managed to pull through a more than complicated service game. In the final minutes, both fought for the win, which ultimately came down to small details. Badosa secured a break on her first chance and then survived Osaka's powerful forehands as she desperately sought winners to regain the break.

Everything ended in favor of the Spaniard, who didn't falter on her serve at the end and sealed the 6-7(1), 6-1, 6-4 victory after nearly two and a half hours of play. A win that will fill Badosa with confidence as she faces the winner between Elena-Gabriela Ruse and McCartney Kessler in the second round.