Naomi Osaka appeared to be heading toward an impressive comeback win over Bianca Andreescu but then made a stunning miss in the third-set tie-break, after which she never recovered.
In a tight ‘s-Hertogenbosch quarterfinal meeting, former world No. 4 Andreescu had a 5-2 lead in the third set. But Osaka didn’t quit as the Japanese managed to get the break back and force a tie-break – in which she won three consecutive points to take a 3-2 lead. In the sixth point, Andreescu slipped on the grass and Osaka just needed to place the ball anywhere inside the Canadian’s side of the court but her backhand finished in the net.
After that miss, Osaka also lost the next four points as Andreescu went on to complete a 6-4 3-6 7-6 (3) win in two hours and 15 minutes of play.
In the ‘s-Hertogenbosch semifinal, Andreescu will be playing against Dalma Galfi.
How Andreescu edged out Osaka?
Through the opening five games of the match, not a single break point was seen as Osaka led 3-2. Then, the rain started falling and the match was suspended for the next two hours.
When Osaka and Andreescu returned to the court, it was the Canadian who claimed the first break of the match in the seventh game. With Andreescu serving for the first set in the 10th game, Osaka earned her first break point of the match – but the 2019 US Open champion saved it before converting her first set point to go up by a set.
After finding herself down by a set, Osaka upped her aggressiveness and emphatically bounced back by winning the opening five games of the second set. But just when it seemed that the second set was over, Osaka missed out on two consecutive set points in the seventh game as Andreescu managed to get one break back and cut the deficit to 3-5.
However, with Osaka serving for the set for the second time, she remained calm this time and managed to realize her third set point to send the match into a decider.
At the start of the third set, both players missed out on a break point before Andreescu earned a break in the sixth game and went on to open a 5-2 lead. But just when it seemed that Osaka was inches away from a defeat, the former world No. 1 stunningly recovered after breaking back Andreescu in the ninth game to ultimately force a tie-break.
As mentioned above, Osaka then opened a 3-2 lead in the tie-break before making a big mistake and Andreescu going on to complete a three-set win.