After coming back from a set and a break down in her first two matches at the 2019 French Open, top seed Naomi Osaka couldn’t repeat the feat once more, falling to doubles world No.1 Katerina Siniakova 6-4 6-2 in the third round.
Only at the net was Osaka better than the unseeded Siniakova, winning seven out of eight points, compared to her opponent’s one out of six. In virtually every other department Siniakova outperformed the reigning No.1, her most drastic superiority being in the break points won and unforced errors. The doubles specialist, ranked No.42 in singles, saved all the seven break points she faced, including 0-40 in the final game of the first set, while she converted 50% of her six opportunities to break the favorite. When it comes to the winners-to-unforced-errors differential, Osaka stands at -13, way below Siniakova’s -1.
A double fault on break point at 4-2 in the second set sealed Osaka’s bad fate, as Siniakova served out the victory to end the Japanese’s 16-match winning streak at Grand Slams. The 23-year-old Czech has now reached her first fourth round at a major in singles competition, while in doubles she’s a two-time Grand Slam champion, including at last year’s French Open alongside fellow Czech Barbora Krejcikova.
Wow!! Go Siniakova!! But then, anything can happen at GS, and especially French Open and Wimbledon.