US Open champion Naomi Osaka completed another comeback victory to overhaul 13th seed Anastasija Sevastova 4-6 6-3 6-4 and reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday, Melbourne.
"I wasn't really sure what to do at a certain point, but I just tried to stick in there," Osaka said. "I was thinking I've been in this position before, and I was watching all these kids winning – seeing Tsitsipas beat Federer – so I decided I wanted to do well too."
The 2018 US Open champion, targeting back-to-back Grand Slam victories, currently trails Svitolina 3-2 in their head to head, having lost both hard-court encounters against the Ukrainian in straight sets last year in Dubai and Miami.
Sevastova edged ahead in the first set after converting her first break point and closed out the opener without offering Osaka a single opportunity to break back.
The second set saw Osaka save a break point on her way to moving 5-2 in front, and the Japanese saved another before eventually forcing the decider.
Osaka took that momentum with her, breaking immediately, but she was pegged back in the sixth game with Sevastova requiring six break points to level at 3-3.
Sevastova surrendered her serve straight away, however, and Osaka then survived eight deuces in the eighth game before seeing it out two games later.
Osaka will play sixth seed Elina Svitolina for a place in the semi-finals.
