One point from defeat, Osaka edges Muguruza
So good for so long lately, Naomi Osaka was just one point from the end of her lengthy winning streak, one point from leaving the Australian Open with a loss to Garbine Muguruza.
Bleak as things looked for her late in a big-hitting matchup of Grand Slam champions and former No. 1-ranked women, Osaka never wavered, erasing two match points and grabbing the last four games to edge Muguruza 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 at Rod Laver Arena in the fourth round Sunday (Saturday night EST).
The third-seeded Osaka returns to the quarterfinals of a tournament she won in 2019 for one of her three major trophies. Osaka ran her winning streak to 18 matches — a run that included a U.S. Open title in September — and put a stop to Muguruza’s own fine form of late.
Heading into Sunday — the second day of the tournament without any spectators, because of a local COVID -19 lockdown — two-time major champion Muguruza had been broken only once in this Australian Open. She had
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 | dropped a total of 10 games through three matches.
But Osaka broke her five times and won 17 games in all in a contest featuring entertaining baseline back-and-forth play and terrific serving by both on a cloudy day with the temperature in the mid-60s.
“I was a bit intimidated, because I knew that she was playing really well coming into this match,” Osaka said. “In the stressful points, I feel like I just had to go within myself. And I know that today I probably hit a lot of unforced errors, but I feel like it was what I needed to do, because I couldn’t really give her any short balls because she would finish it.”
Osaka wound up with more unforced errors, 36-28, but also more winners, 40-24.
The key moment came when Osaka was serving at 15-40 while trailing 5-3 in the final set. Muguruza could not convert either of those match points: Osaka delivered one of her 11 aces at 118 mph on the first; Muguruza missed a groundstroke on the second.
Fifteen minutes later, the match was over.
Osaka, 23, now faces unseeded 35-year-old Hsie Su-wei of Taiwain with a semifinal berth at stake.
Julius Randle and rookie Immanuel Quickley each scored 22 points and the New York Knicks sent the Houston Rockets to a season-high fifth straight loss with a 121-99 victory Saturday night.
Derrick Rose added 16 points for the Knicks, who had no problem in their first game after losing starting center Mitchell Robinson to a broken right hand Friday night in a victory at Washington.
Their defense remained sturdy and they put six players in double figures while shooting 52 percent from the field.
John Wall scored 26 points and Eric Gordon had 24 for the Rockets, who are 0-5 since Christian Wood sprained his right ankle and also played without Victor Oladipo because of a sprained right foot.
Pacers 125, Hawks 113: Doug Mcdermott scored 26 points, Myles Turner had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Indiana won its second straight game. The Hawks blew a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter as Indiana scored 41 points in the final period and used a 27-7 run to take control of the game. Atlanta, a loser in six of its past seven, got 24 points and 10 rebounds from Clint Capela. Trae Young had 15 points and 14 assists but didn’t attempt a 3-pointer for just the second time in his career. Shenendehowa graduate Kevin Huerter posted a double-double for Atlanta with 10 points and 10 assists.
Suns 120, 76ers 111: Devin Booker scored 36 points, Chris Paul added 18 points and 10 assists and rising Phoenix beat Philadelphia for its fifth straight victory. The Suns have won eight of their past nine games and improved to 16-9. They got a big game from their bench against Philadelphia, especially from Dario Saric, who scored 15 points in his first game back after missing 10 straight. Joel Embiid had 35 points on 12-for-23 shooting for the Sixers, who have lost two in a row but still hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference at 18-9. Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris both added 18 points.