"Really impressed": Iga Swiatek praises Naomi Osaka ahead of French Open second-round clash

World number one Iga Swiatek has heaped praise on Japan’s Naomi Osaka ahead of their French Open clash. The two will face off in the second round of the mega-event on Wednesday. Swiatek defeated France’s Leolia Jeanjean in the first round at the Roland Garros with a score of 6-1, 6-2 whereas Osaka defeated Lucia Bronzetti of Italy with a score of 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in the round of 128.

Swiatek was recently quoted in a report where she heaped praise on her second-round opponent and stated that she has to prepare ‘tactically’ for an opponent like Osaka whom she has only played twice and their last meeting was more than two years back in April 2022 in the final of the Miami Open.

“Really impressed,” she said. “I think, you know, she's a great person, and her game style is, you know, pretty fun to watch as well. I haven't actually played against Naomi obviously on clay, so we’ll see how that's gonna go. We need to prepare tactically, for sure. But all these matches that we played on hard court were always really intense and tough. So I'm just glad that she came back and she’s playing more tournaments even than before the break.. happy that she’s playing well.”