Naomi Osaka was on the brink of a second-round exit from the Canadian Open, but she fought back for a thrilling win.
Naomi Osaka saved three match points before storming back to beat Liudmila Samsonova 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 in the second round of the Canadian Open on Wednesday.
Osaka had lost each of her last four matches that required a deciding set, but she snapped that streak in thrilling fashion in Montreal.
It looked as though the four-time grand slam champion would not make it to a third set when Samsonova forced three match points at 5-4 up – and on serve – in the second set.
However, Osaka rallied from 40-0 down to break in that game, and after coming through a tense hold of her own, she inched through a hard-fought tie-break to level the match.
The momentum was with Osaka from there as she registered two breaks in Samsanova’s first three service games in the decider.
Winning 83% of first-serve points to her opponent’s 54% in the third set, Osaka gave one of those breaks back but then got another of her own in game nine to wrap up victory.
Having reached the third round of the Canadian Open for the very first time, the former world number one will face either Jelena Ostapenko or Renata Zarazua.
Data Debrief: Favourite opponent?
Osaka has now beaten Samsonova three times at hard-court WTA 1000 events, boasting a 100% record against her in such matches.
Samsonova is only the second player Osaka has achieved three such wins against in her career, after Danielle Collins (3-0).
Osaka and Samsonova have now met five times in the last 16 months, with Osaka leading 3-2 in their head-to-head.
AloJapan.com