Fourth seed came from a set down to defeat 13th seed in the fourth round on Monday, at the Australian Open. The Japanese won 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 47 minutes.
Sevastova had 10 break point chances, but could only convert two the first in the opening set and the second in the deciding set when she levelled the score to three-all. But, Osaka was just as good in converting her break point opportunities as she was in saving them.
Of the four break points she had on the Latvians serve, Osaka converted three. There was just as big a gap in the players winners and unforced errors count. Osaka hit 51 winners, over twice as many Sevastovas 22 and she also had a higher number of unforced errors as compared to her opponent 43 to 21.
Osaka finished the match with 99 points to Sevastovas 89 to reach her first quarter-final in the event, where sixth seed awaits her next. Svitolina beat 17th seed in another three-set match, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1.
The attritional match-up saw both players levels ebb and flow throughout, before Svitolina turned around the match in her favour in the third. The Ukrainian finished the match with 76 points, four more than Keys. Osaka and Svitolina have played each other five times before, with two their recent meetings coming in 2018 in Dubai and Miami.
Svitolina, who narrowly leads their head-to-head 3-2, won both encounters. Their quarter-final match-up will still be intriguing considering Osakas firmer trajectory at the Majors. Photo Credit: Luke Hemer (Tennis Australia)
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