It's more than just a fashion show for Naomi Osaka at the French Open. The four-time Grand Slam champion has advanced to the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time in her career.
Osaka beat 18-year-old American opponent Iva Jovic 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4 over nearly three hours Saturday -- in her 100th Grand Slam match -- to set up a round of 16 meeting with top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, who beat Daria Kasatkina 6-0, 7-5.
No. 6-ranked American Amanda Anisimova was eliminated by France's Diane Parry 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (10-3).
Osaka on Saturday once again wore a metallic gold bomber jacket over her sequined gold playing dress during her walk-on. This time her outfit was offset by a tannish-gold colored train that stretched all the way down to the red clay on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
For her opening match, Osaka walked on in a ceremonial black skirt and sleeveless beaded bodice before revealing her gold dress, which she said reminded her of the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night. She had on the bomber jacket and an ivory-colored train for her second match.
"It's a surprise every time," Osaka said of her fashion choices.
"For me, it would be weirder to wear a normal tennis kit, almost, at this point. It's the fun of it. For a long time, I didn't have fun for a little bit. And you guys know that period of time in my life," Osaka added, referring to how in 2021 she withdrew from the French Open because of anxiety and depression. "Now I just want things to be fun, and I want to make it exciting for myself."
Osaka's outfits are planned a year and a half in advance and require at least four fittings.
"We have so many fittings throughout the year because your weight can fluctuate or the fabric can change a little bit," she said. "There is a lot of effort that goes into it."
For the seventh straight day of the tournament, it was hot and humid, with the temperature forecast to rise to 93 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat is expected to break for Sunday and the second week.
Midway through Osaka's victory, a spectator was carried out of the stadium on a stretcher due to an apparent illness.
Parry, whose French Open started horribly with a 6-0 loss in her first set of the first round, recorded a second straight win over a seeded opponent. She is the second woman in the Open era (since 1968) to make the round of 16 at the French Open after getting bageled in her opening set of the tournament, according to ESPN Research. The other is Christina Sandberg in 1970.
In the same half of the draw Saturday, defending champion Coco Gauff was playing 28th-seeded Anastasia Potapova.
Russia's Diana Shnaider beat Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova 7-5, 6-1. Oliynykova has accused Shnaider of being a propagandist for the war between their countries.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.