Naomi Osaka saves two match points, shocks Liudmila Samsonova in Montréal

Naomi Osaka roared back from the brink of defeat to shock Liudmila Samsonova, 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3, saving two match points to advance into the third round at the Omnium Banque Nationale.

Osaka was tied 2-2 in her head-to-head with Samsonova coming into Wednesday’s clash, but after losing their most recent encounter on grass at the Berlin Tennis Open, the former world No. 1 avenged the loss in dramatic fashion on Wednesday, winning in two hours and 37 minutes on Center Court.

"She definitely came out really hard and for me, I was definitely overwhelmed and I didn’t know if I should also be hitting winners. But after a while, I just tried to keep the ball in the court," Osaka said on court after the match.

A four-time Grand Slam champion, Osaka was playing her first tournament since parting ways with Patrick Mouratoglou, the former coach of Serena Williams whom she hired last fall. The 27-year-old is currently trialing with Tomasz Wiktorowski, who previously worked with Iga Swiatek.

Osaka made a solid start to her Montréal campaign with a 6-4, 6-2 first-round victory over Canadian qualifier Ariana Arseneault and was looking to win back-to-back matches for only the second time since the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, having reached the third round of Wimbledon earlier this month.

Samsonova was fresh off a major breakthrough, making her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the All England Club after winning her fifth career title on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Playing her first match of the North American hard-court swing, she played impressive tennis early on against Osaka, breaking in the very first game and fending off a break point on her own serve in the sixth. With little else to separate the two, the 26-year-old served out the first set and took a 0-40 lead on Osaka’s serve to start the second.

Osaka saved five break points in that marathon game but was unable to capitalize on that reprieve and fell behind a break two games later. The second set appeared poised to play out like the first as Samsonova weathered a brief challenge to her lead but ultimately eased towards the finish line with a love hold for 5-3.

But things got complicated from there: Osaka gamely served to stay in the match and made a brave last stand from match point down, saving two in a row on Samsonova's serve and earning her first break of the match off a nervous double fault. Osaka rode the momentum to a third straight game, threatening to flip the match on its head.

Samsonova rallied in time to force a tiebreaker and nabbed the first mini-break of the Sudden Death, leading 5-2 after the first change of ends. Serving on the brink of defeat, Osaka tore through the next four points to earn a first set point but missed long off the backhand side to even the contest once more. Serving her way to a second set point, Osaka let out a roar as Samsonova shanked a forehand to send the match into a decider.

Osaka only played better as the third set got underway, breaking to start and nailing a forehand passing shot to earn a 4-1, double-break advantage. Samsonova clawed back one of the breaks but Osaka put down a love hold to put herself a game away from completing the comeback.

Just under an hour after holding match points, Samsonova saved one against her but couldn't save a second as a delighted Osaka cleared the finish line in just over two and a half hours.

"I’ve played her so many times since I’ve come back, so I wouldn’t say it’s new. I haven’t played here in a long time, so it was nice to get a three-set win here in Montréal," Osaka said.

Up next for Osaka will be the winner of the second round match between No. 22 seed Jelena Ostapenko and Mexico’s Renata Zarazua.