Former world No 1 Naomi Osaka made another dazzling entry at the French Open on Thursday, but she was made to work hard to avoid the exit door in a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Croatian Donna Vekic in the second round.In the men’s section, Italian 10th seed Flavio Cobolli beat China’s Wu Yibing 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round for the second year straight.With Wu’s exit, the only Chinese player left in the singles draw is women’s world No 148 Wang Xiyu, who in the third round faces Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva, conqueror of second seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan on Wednesday.Osaka, who wore a sequinned waistcoat blouse and black mesh train over her layered yellow-brown and gold match dress in the opening round, arrived for the contest with Vekic in a white floor-length flared train over her outfit.On another blazing day in Paris, the Japanese player traded breaks freely with Vekic in the opening set on Court Simonne Mathieu, before finding her best form during the tiebreak to prevail for the loss of only one point.Naomi Osaka’s win over Donna Vekic took her into the third round for the first time since 2019. Photo: AFPDown a set, Paris Olympics silver medallist Vekic began to deploy a series of drop shots to trouble Osaka early in the second set but her challenge fizzled out as she surrendered her serve in the ninth game.
French Open: Osaka makes fashion statement in 2nd round win; China’s Wu exits
Japanese star mixes sportswear with couture while Wu’s exit means only Chinese player left in singles draw is women’s world No 148 Wang Xiyu.
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