‘Stressed’ Osaka saves match points to set up all-Asian quarter-final

Monday, 15 February 2021 01:53 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Naomi Osaka celebrates her thrilling win over Garbine Muguruza after saving two match points in the third set

MELBOURNE (AFP): A “very stressed” Naomi Osaka saved two match points to outlast Garbine Muguruza and set up an all-Asian quarter-final against Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei at the Australian Open on Sunday. The third seed was on the verge of elimination at 3-5, 15-40 on her serve in the third set before rattling off four points in a row.

She then twice broke the serve of two-time Grand Slam winner Muguruza to prevail 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 55 minutes on an empty Rod Laver Arena, devoid of fans for a second day because of a state-wide coronavirus lockdown.

In a tense third set, Osaka failed to convert a break point in the fourth game and subsequently dropped her serve, slamming her racquet down in frustration. Japan’s Osaka now has an all-Asian quarter-final against 35-year-old Hsieh, who upset 19th seed Marketa Vondrousova 6-4, 6-2.