Naomi Osaka survives to reach fourth round at Australian Open

Naomi Osaka d Su-Wei Hsieh 5-7, 6-4, 6-1

Naomi Osaka stared down the barrel of a disastrous Australian Open defeat when she slid to a set and 4-1 down against Su-Wei Hsieh of Taipei on Saturday.

But the Japanese superstar, seeded No.4 in Melbourne and with an eye on the No.1 ranking this week, pulled herself out of the malaise to record a gripping victory and graduated to the fourth round.

Naomi Osaka.Credit:AP

The 21-year-old Osaka, the reigning US Open champion, had to prevail in one of the best matches of the tournament against the 28th-seeded Hsieh, coached for many years by Australian legend Paul McNamee.

From 4-2 down in the second set having lost the first 7-5, she first staved off three break points on her own serve. These were the moments when she had to ponder an early exit from the tournament. But Osaka was resolved; she reeled off four consecutive games to take the second set 6-4. With the momentum shifted, she dominated the decider 6-1 in just 30 minutes, conceding just one more game for the match.

Hsieh, 33, is an intriguing player with two-handed shots from both sides and all manner of deft drop shots and tricky slices.

Her second serve is a popgun at just more than 100 km/h but she is a bulldog competitor renowned for keeping the ball in play.

It was left to Osaka to make the play and in the first half of the match, she was prone to error and often saving her hands in frustration.

The woman from Taipei has a great doubles record, having won a pair of grand slam titles, but she is also proficient in singles and nearing her career-best ranking.

She reached the fourth round at the Australian Open last year, losing to Angelique Kerber in a three-setter, but defeated Agnieszka Radwanska and Garbine Muguruza along the way as evidence of her abilities.

Osaka was made to work but showed she was up for it. Having announced herself with her famous defeat of her childhood idol Serena Williams at Flushing Meadows last year, the Japanese player has also shown grit to go with her svelte forehands and her big service.

"I didn't want to give up," she said afterward. "I really love grand slams and anything I can do to stay here a bit longer, I try to do."

Osaka, one of a handful of women who can take the No.1 ranking by winning in Melbourne this week, plays Anastasija Sevastova or Qiang Wang in the fourth round. They play on 1573 Arena this afternoon.

She was not the only seed to endure difficulties in Melbourne on Saturday. The sixth-seeded Ukrainian, Elina Svitolina, was forced into a two hour, 55 minute epic against Shuai Zhang of China before winning 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena.

Her progress to the fourth round matches the Ukrainian's best result in Melbourne, and while she has not yet won a grand slam singles title, she did win the season-ending WTA Finals last year.

Elina Svitolina celebrates after her tough win.Credit:AAP

She also recently confirmed that she is dating the French star Gael Monfils, who was in the players' box supporting her.

Svitolina said the hot conditions and Zhang's dogged play made it tough. "I just told myself, I'm going to die or I'm going to win," she said afterward.

Svitolina will play either Madison Keys or Elise Mertens in the fourth round.

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