Osaka Saves Three Match Points and Overcomes Samsonova in Montreal

Could Naomi Osaka have secured a turning-point victory for the rest of her season?

The Japanese former world No. 1 faced Liudmila Samsonova in the second round of the WTA 1000 in Montreal. This was their third meeting this year, with one win for each player.

Struggling for over an hour, Osaka found herself trailing 6-4, 5-3, 40-0. That’s when the four-time Grand Slam champion chose to flip the script, saving three match points.

The second set then went to a tie-break, and once again, Osaka managed to turn things around—despite being down 5-2, she won the decisive game 8-6.

The positive momentum continued for the world No. 49 with a double break in the third set. Even though she was broken back at 4-1, she tightened her game to win 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 in 2 hours and 36 minutes.

A stunning first victory under the watchful eye of Tomasz Wiktorowski, the coach with whom she began a trial period this week in Canada. For a spot in the quarterfinals, she will face either Jelena Ostapenko or Renata Zarazua.