Naomi Osaka opened this year’s Roland Garros with a not so confident yet straightforward 6-4 7-6(4) victory over Romanian Patricia Maria Tig on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Debuting her own Nike dress and shoe designs, Osaka started the match with a comfortable 3-0 lead. The world No.63 Tig got one break back to go from 3-5 to 4-5 and get an opportunity to level in her upcoming service game, but the second-seeded Osaka broke her serve once again and sealed the set.
In the second set, players held their serves all the way until the tiebreak. Osaka had a break/match point at 6-5, but Tig fought it off with a winner before succumbing in the tiebreak.
Even though Osaka announced that she would stay away from the press at this Roland Garros, the 23-year-old did chat with retired French ATP player Fabrice Santoro in an on-court interview after her victory.
In the second round, Osaka will face Romanian Ana Bogdan, who defeated lucky loser Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1 6-3.
