Osaka survives as big daddy Djokovic and Serena stroll--

Osaka survives as big daddy Djokovic and Serena stroll

PARIS — Naomi Osaka staged a second successive Roland Garros great escape on Thursday as fellow top seed Novak Djokovic, playing in front of his four-year-old son for the first time, and Serena Williams strolled into the last  三 二.

World No  一 Osaka, bidding to add the French Open to her US and Australian Open titles, came back from a set and  二- 四 down to defeat former world number one Victoria Azarenka  四- 六,  七- 五,  六- 三.

Her win came on the back of being just two points from defeat in her tournament opener against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

The  二 一-year-old held her nerve, despite squandering two match points late in the deciding set, to secure a clash against Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.

"I was lucky to have played Victoria twice before. I knew she had been playing well coming into the tournament,公众said Osaka.

"It was an unfortunate second round draw for me so I am happy to win."

Osaka finished the two-hour  五0-minute encounter on Court Suzanne Lenglen with  五 二 winners and  四 三 unforced errors.

She becomes the first top seed to win her two opening matches at Roland Garros after losing the first set since Lindsay Davenport in  二00 五.

"She deserves to be where she is -- she is very powerful and explosive," said  二 九-year-old Azarenka.

Siniakova, the world number  四 二, also endured a marathon win, putting out Greek  二 九th seed Maria Sakkari  七- 六 ( 七/ 五),  六- 七 ( 八/ 一0),  六- 三 in a three-hour  一0-minute duel.

Siniakova had trailed  一- 五 in the first set before surrendering a  五/ 二 lead in the second-set tiebreaker.

Big daddy Djokovic 

Djokovic cruised into the last  三 二 for the  一 四th successive year, admitting it had been an emotional day playing for the first time in front of his four-year-old son.

Djokovic, bidding to become just the second man to hold all four Slams at the same time twice, cruised to a  六- 一,  六- 四,  六- 三 win over Swiss lucky loser Henri Laaksonen.

Watching from the player's box on Court Suzanne Lenglen was Djokovic's son Stefan.

"It's a very special day for me as it's the first time in my life that I have played in front of my son,"大众said the  三 二-year-old Serb after a  二 三rd straight win at the Slams.

"He showed incredible patience to sit there for an hour and a half. Usually, he's not that patient with tennis."

Djokovic goes on to face Italian qualifier Salvatore Caruso, ranked  一 四 七, for a place in the last  一 六 in Paris.

Thursday was a lot more enjoyable for Djokovic than his last visit to Court Suzanne Lenglen in  二0 一 八 when he was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Marco Cecchinato.

Three-time French Open champion Williams thrashed Japanese qualifier Kurumi Nara to step up her bid for a record-equalling  二 四th Grand Slam title. 

The  三 七-year-old cruised to a  六- 三,  六- 二 victory and next faces fellow American Sofia Kenin.

"I'm very serious when I play, but I'm happy,公众said Williams.

A mouthwatering quarter-final clash with Osaka, who famously beat Williams in a dramatic  二0 一 八 US Open final, remains a possibility.

Williams ha妹妹ered  一0 aces and  三 六 winners past world number  二 三 八 Nara, who stands a mere  五ft  一in ( 一. 五 五m).

Defending champion Simona Halep wasted three match points in the second set of her clash with Poland's Magda Linette but eventually prevailed  六- 四,  五- 七,  六- 三.

Fourth seed Dominic Thiem overcame an entertaining challenge from Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik to reach the third round for the fourth straight year.

The Austrian fourth seed was facing a fifth set when trailing  五- 二 in the fourth, but reeled off five straight games to win  六- 三,  六- 七 ( 六/ 八),  六- 三,  七- 五.

World number  九 一 Bublik delighted the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd with his wide range of shots, including three underarm serves in the opening set.

The reward for Thiem is a clash against Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas who made it through when British number one Kyle Edmund retired with a knee injury at  七- 六 ( 七/ 三),  六- 三,  二- 一 down.

Fifth seeded German Alexander Zverev, a quarter-finalist in  二0 一 八, easily disposed of Swedish qualifier Mikael Ymer  六- 一,  六- 三,  七- 六 ( 七/ 三).

Juan Martin del Potro, the Argentine eighth seed and a two-time semi-finalist, needed treatment on his right knee against Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka in a three-hour  四 六-minute thriller.

But he still ground out a  五- 七,  六- 四,  六- 二,  六- 七 ( 五/ 七),  六- 二 win to progress, sending down  一 七 aces and  六 九 winners. AFP