<p>Paris: Defending French Open champion Iga Swiatek will take on Naomi Osaka in a blockbuster second-round contest between the two most successful women in the Roland Garros draw, renewing a rivalry split down the middle after two years on Wednesday.</p><p>Swiatek heads into the clash against her fellow four-times Grand Slam champion in the form of her life on clay, having captured titles in Madrid and Rome as she bids to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup for a fourth time.</p><p>In her third meeting with Osaka and first on the sport's slowest surface, the 22-year-old Pole will target a victory that would give her an edge in their head-to-head record.</p><p>Osaka arrives under vastly different circumstances, having returned to the tour at the start of the season following a long maternity break, but she showed flashes of top form during her tough opening Roland Garros win over Lucia Bronzetti.</p><p>"Really impressed," Swiatek said of the 26-year-old Osaka's comeback after 15 months away from the sport.</p>.French Open 2024: No fairytale ending for Cornet as Zheng sends her packing in the first round .<p>"She's a great person and her game style is pretty fun to watch. I'm glad she came back and she's playing more tournaments even than before the break.</p><p>"I haven't actually played against Naomi obviously on clay, so we'll see how that's going to go."</p><p>Osaka was excited by the challenge, having dedicated herself to improving her game on a surface where success has eluded her.</p><p>"I watched her a lot when I was pregnant. It's an honour to play her in the French Open because she has won more than once here. It's a very big challenge for me," Osaka said.</p><p>The former world number one added that the contest was an acid test in her comeback.</p><p>"It's a test to see where I'm at but I wouldn't say I have low expectations of myself. I'm a person that thinks that I can win every match that I play.</p><p>"That's gotten me this far. I'd never play a match thinking lowly of myself, no."</p><p>On the men's side, Carlos Alcaraz will continue his quest for a maiden French Open trophy, with the third seed taking on Jesper De Jong before fellow young gun and second seed Jannik Sinner faces Richard Gasquet.</p><p>Former Roland Garros runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas can build momentum in his bid to end his Grand Slam duck when he takes on Daniel Altmaier while fellow seed Andrey Rublev squares off against Pedro Martinez. </p>
<p>Paris: Defending French Open champion Iga Swiatek will take on Naomi Osaka in a blockbuster second-round contest between the two most successful women in the Roland Garros draw, renewing a rivalry split down the middle after two years on Wednesday.</p><p>Swiatek heads into the clash against her fellow four-times Grand Slam champion in the form of her life on clay, having captured titles in Madrid and Rome as she bids to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup for a fourth time.</p><p>In her third meeting with Osaka and first on the sport's slowest surface, the 22-year-old Pole will target a victory that would give her an edge in their head-to-head record.</p><p>Osaka arrives under vastly different circumstances, having returned to the tour at the start of the season following a long maternity break, but she showed flashes of top form during her tough opening Roland Garros win over Lucia Bronzetti.</p><p>"Really impressed," Swiatek said of the 26-year-old Osaka's comeback after 15 months away from the sport.</p>.French Open 2024: No fairytale ending for Cornet as Zheng sends her packing in the first round .<p>"She's a great person and her game style is pretty fun to watch. I'm glad she came back and she's playing more tournaments even than before the break.</p><p>"I haven't actually played against Naomi obviously on clay, so we'll see how that's going to go."</p><p>Osaka was excited by the challenge, having dedicated herself to improving her game on a surface where success has eluded her.</p><p>"I watched her a lot when I was pregnant. It's an honour to play her in the French Open because she has won more than once here. It's a very big challenge for me," Osaka said.</p><p>The former world number one added that the contest was an acid test in her comeback.</p><p>"It's a test to see where I'm at but I wouldn't say I have low expectations of myself. I'm a person that thinks that I can win every match that I play.</p><p>"That's gotten me this far. I'd never play a match thinking lowly of myself, no."</p><p>On the men's side, Carlos Alcaraz will continue his quest for a maiden French Open trophy, with the third seed taking on Jesper De Jong before fellow young gun and second seed Jannik Sinner faces Richard Gasquet.</p><p>Former Roland Garros runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas can build momentum in his bid to end his Grand Slam duck when he takes on Daniel Altmaier while fellow seed Andrey Rublev squares off against Pedro Martinez. </p>