Naomi Osaka was eliminated in the second round of the Madrid Open by 15th seed Liudmila Samsonova after an epic encounter that lasted nearly two and a half hours.
In a first set that was destined to throw a wrench into the thrilling encounter that followed, Osaka quickly fell behind 4-0 and lost the first set 2-6, while breaking early in both the second and third sets was.
On each of those occasions, Osaka rallied and finished four games in a row with a 4-3 deficit in the second game to level the situation with a set apiece, while Samsonova appeared to lose her nerve.
With the score at 4-3, Samsonova made three double faults, was broken and lost her lead. In her next service game, after holding two set points from 15:40 behind, she double-faulted again, allowing Osaka to secure a third.
In an extremely close third set, Samsonova finally got the decisive break in the eleventh game before she held her nerve this time and won the match for a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 victory over four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka played out.
Samsonova will next face 18th-seeded American Madison Keys in the third round.
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