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Down but not out: 2019 champion Naomi Osaka is still alive at the Australian Open.
Seed No.3 saved two maids points to overtake two-time Grand Slam champion Garbiñe Muguruza in the fourth round Sunday, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, to the Down Under semifinals. reached for the second time in the last three years.
From 5-3, 15-40 down on service in the final set, Osaka ran off four straight games to complete an incredible return to Rod Laver Arena in an hour and 55 minutes.
Earlier in the game, she rallied from 6-4, down 2-0 to beat a final set in the first ever meeting between the two Grand Slam champions.
Osaka hit 11 aces and 40 winners over the game to win, beating Muguruza in blistering baseline rallies as the game wore on.
If the former World No.1 is to reach the semifinals, however, she must then get past one of the most cunning players on tour – because as finally, Hsieh Su-wei is in the quarter-finals Reach a Grand Slam.
In her 38th Grand Slam draw, Hsieh from Chinese Taipei moved into the elite eight thanks to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over seed No.19 Marketa Vondrousova in the Czech Republic.
With two losses in the fourth round at the Main Down Under history, the third time was the charm for Hsieh as she overtook Vondrousova after 68 minutes of play.
The 35-year-old Hsieh, a World No.1 rower in doubles, has now become the oldest player to make her Grand Slam debut in the Open Era.
The veteran used her divine court craft to overtake Vondrousova’s left, and earned 80 percent of her first-serve points to support sculpting and chipping. Vondrousova, Roland Garros ’2019 final, was blocked by 31 non-critical errors in the game, almost double the number she won.
Hsieh let a big 5-2 lead slip in a bit as she couldn’t turn a set point in that game, and Vondrousova put power on her way to 5-4. But with a grip of love, punctuated by a double-handed winner, let Hsieh shut out the set on her second attempt.
Hsieh scored a winning backhand to break Vondrousova in the first game of the second set, and the Chinese Taipei player moved from there, reaching five straight games in total to get to 4- 0.
Hsieh doubled wrong on her first game point at 5-2, but on her second look, Vondrousova made a wide return to give Hsieh a new milestone in the singles career.
Stat check: In the Open Era (since 1968), only four players have made more Grand Slam appearances than Hsieh (38 major draw shows) before reaching their maiden maiden quarterback – Tamarine Tanasugarn (45 , 2008 Wimbledon), Silvia Farina Elia (44, 2003 Wimbledon), Elena Vesnina (42, 2016 Wimbledon), and Julia Goerges (41, 2018 Wimbledon).
More to come …