Muchova Needs Nine Match Points to Outlast Osaka in Beijing Thriller

Karolina Muchova held her nerve through one of the wildest finishes of the tennis season, edging Naomi Osaka 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(7) in the fourth round of the China Open in Beijing on Tuesday after squandering eight match points before finally closing it out.

The seventh seed twice came from a break down against the 2019 champion, surrendering early leads to the former world No. 1 only to claw them back. Osaka raced 4-1 ahead in the first set before Muchova won four straight games, then dominated the second 6-1. The decider swung again: Osaka broke for 3-1, Muchova broke back, and then the nerves set in — five match points went begging at 5-4, and three more slipped away in the tie-break before the Czech sealed it 9-7 on her ninth attempt with a backhand volley.

The numbers told the story of the 2-hour-52-minute battle: Muchova struck 52 winners but also 50 unforced errors, while Osaka fired 11 aces and saved eight match points. It was Muchova's third straight win over Osaka this year, taking their head-to-head to 5-3 after victories in the Bad Homburg final and the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

A first career meeting with 20-year-old compatriot Nikola Bartunkova now awaits in the quarter-finals after the 26th seed beat Sinja Kraus 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.