Naomi Osaka rallies for 3-set win vs. Karolina Muchova at Australian Open

Four-time major champion Naomi Osaka earned a statement victory over No. 20 Karolina Muchova on Wednesday to reach the third round of a Slam for the first time since the 2022 Australian Open.

With the 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 win, Osaka improved to to 21-6 (.778) all-time in major three-set matches, tied with Billie Jean King for the third-best record in the Open Era — behind only Steffi Graff (.793) and Wendy Turnbull (.784).

Osaka next faces Belinda Bencic on Friday. Bencic leads their head-to-head meetings 3-2, though the two have not played since 2022.

Like Osaka, Bencic is also returning from a recent maternity leave.

ESPN Research contributed to this report.

Source: espn.com