Naomi Osaka saves two match points, shocks Liudmila Samsonova in Montréal
Osaka rallied from the brink of defeat to advance in three sets.
Naomi Osaka roared back from the brink of defeat to shock Liudmila Samsonova, 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3, saving two match points to advance into the third round at the Omnium Banque Nationale.
Osaka was tied 2-2 in her head-to-head with Samsonova coming into Wednesday’s clash, but after losing their most recent encounter on grass at the Berlin Tennis Open, the former world No. 1 avenged the loss in dramatic fashion on Wednesday, winning in two hours and 37 minutes on Center Court.
"She definitely came out really hard and for me, I was definitely overwhelmed and I didn’t know if I should also be hitting winners. But after a while, I just tried to keep the ball in the court," Osaka said on court after the match.
A four-time Grand Slam champion, Osaka was playing her first tournament since parting ways with Patrick Mouratoglou, the former coach of Serena Williams whom she hired last fall. The 27-year-old is currently trialing with Tomasz Wiktorowski, who previously worked with Iga Swiatek.
Osaka made a solid start to her Montréal campaign with a 6-4, 6-2 first-round victory over Canadian qualifier Ariana Arseneault and was looking to win back-to-back matches for only the second time since the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, having reached the third round of Wimbledon earlier this month.
Samsonova was fresh off a major breakthrough, making her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the All England Club after winning her fifth career title on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Playing her first match of the North American hard-court swing, she played impressive tennis early on against Osaka, breaking in the very first game and fending off a break point on her own serve in the sixth. With little else to separate the two, the 26-year-old served out the first set and took a 0-40 lead on Osaka’s serve to start the second.
Osaka saved five break points in that marathon game but was unable to capitalize on that reprieve and fell behind a break two games later. The second set appeared poised to play out like the first as Samsonova weathered a brief challenge to her lead but ultimately eased towards the finish line with a love hold for 5-3.
But things got complicated from there: Osaka gamely served to stay in the match and made a brave last stand from match point down, saving two in a row on Samsonova's serve and earning her first break of the match off a nervous double fault. Osaka rode the momentum to a third straight game, threatening to flip the match on its head.
Samsonova rallied in time to force a tiebreaker and nabbed the first mini-break of the Sudden Death, leading 5-2 after the first change of ends. Serving on the brink of defeat, Osaka tore through the next four points to earn a first set point but missed long off the backhand side to even the contest once more. Serving her way to a second set point, Osaka let out a roar as Samsonova shanked a forehand to send the match into a decider.
Osaka only played better as the third set got underway, breaking to start and nailing a forehand passing shot to earn a 4-1, double-break advantage. Samsonova clawed back one of the breaks but Osaka put down a love hold to put herself a game away from completing the comeback.
Just under an hour after holding match points, Samsonova saved one against her but couldn't save a second as a delighted Osaka cleared the finish line in just over two and a half hours.
"I’ve played her so many times since I’ve come back, so I wouldn’t say it’s new. I haven’t played here in a long time, so it was nice to get a three-set win here in Montréal," Osaka said.
Up next for Osaka will be the winner of the second round match between No. 22 seed Jelena Ostapenko and Mexico’s Renata Zarazua.