Jean-Francois Badias/Associated Press
PARIS — Naomi Osaka is grinding her way through the French Open the hard way.
To cling onto her quest for a third consecutive Grand Slam title, the top-ranked Osaka has twice had to rally from first-set woes.
The latest opponent was the former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, and Osaka survived, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, on Thursday in a second-round match with superb shotmaking.
Osaka, the reigning United States Open and Australian Open champion from Japan, surprisingly lost her first set, 6-0, in the first round, and again started poorly.
[French Open scoreboard: Men’s singles | Women’s singles]
Azarenka, now ranked No.