Osaka Advances To Australian Open Quarterfinals
Japanese tennis star Osaka Naomi has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, beating Spain's Garbine Muguruza in a close match.
Osaka, ranked third in the world and the winner of the 2019 Australian Open, faced 14th-ranked Muguruza in a fourth-round match in Melbourne on Sunday.
Pressed by Muguruza's aggressive returns, Osaka made a series of errors and lost the first set 4-6. It was her first loss of a set in this Grand Slam tournament.
Osaka was trailing Muguruza in the second set. But she won back the set 6-4 after both players exchanged strokes close to the line.
In the third and final set, Osaka survived two match points in the ninth game. From a trailing score of 3-5, Osaka won four games in a row to clinch the set 7-5.
After the match, Osaka said she had a lot of unforced errors as Muguruza was playing so well. She said she knew she had to go on the offensive by utilizing all her shots.
Osaka next faces Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei, ranked 71st in the world.