2021 Match Point Saves
Great Escapes 2021: Winning from match point down
Kristina Kucova's nearly 4-hour victory over Ekaterine Gorgodze in Gdynia has taken the total number of 2021 WTA main draw matches in which a player has saved at least one match point en route to victory to 48.
01
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Sofia Kenin was the first player to pull off the feat in 2021, fighting back from match point down at 3-6, 5-6 to outlast Yulia Putintseva 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the third round of Abu Dhabi.
Photo by WTA/Jimmie48
02
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In the very next match on the Abu Dhabi Centre Court, Elina Svitolina saved two match points in the final-set tiebreak to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(8) and reach the quarterfinals.
Photo by WTA/Jimmie48
03
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Elisabetta Cocciaretto stormed back from a dire first set to beat Zhu Lin in the opening round of the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne 0-6, 6-3, 7-5, saving match point in the third set as Zhu served at 5-4.
Photo by Getty Images
04
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Another Italian-Chinese battle in Melbourne saw Jasmine Paolini upset Wang Qiang in round two of the Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, saving two match points en route to overturning a 2-5 second-set deficit.
Photo by Getty Images
05
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Irina-Camelia Begu claimed a wild Gippsland Trophy third-round victory over Johanna Konta 4-6, 7-6(10), 7-6(4), saving two match points in a second set she won on her eighth set point and closing the win out on her own ninth match point.
Photo by Getty Images
06
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Victoria Azarenka saved two match points in a decisive match-tiebreak and beat Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 1-6, [11-9] to reach the Grampians Trophy quarterfinals in Melbourne.
Photo by Getty Images
07
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Anett Kontaveit also saved two match points in a match-tiebreak to outlast Maria Sakkari in the Grampians Trophy semifinals 2-6, 6-3, [11-9].
Photo by Getty Images
08
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Serving at 4-5 in the second set, Donna Vekic fended off a match point against Kaia Kanepi and went on to take their Australian Open third-round clash 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-4 - a win that meant the Croat has reached the second week of every major.
Photo by Tennis Australia/Mark Peterson
09
/48
The first round of the Phillip Island Trophy in Melbourne saw Anna Blinkova save two match points serving down 4-5 in the second set before posting her first win of 2021 over Andrea Petkovic 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4.
Photo by Tennis Australia/Jonathan Di Maggio
10
/48
Sara Sorribes Tormo overturned a 3-5 final-set deficit in the first round of the Phillip Island Trophy to beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-7(6), 6-1, 7-6(4), staring down two match points serving at 4-5.
Photo by Tennis Australia/Reg Ryan
11
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Naomi Osaka erased two match points at 5-3 in the final set before rallying to take the final four games in a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over Garbiñe Muguruza in the Australian Open fourth round.
Photo by Getty Images
12
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Making her WTA debut as a lucky loser in the second round of the Phillip Island Trophy, World No.566 Gabriella Da Silva Fick saved two match points trailing 4-5 in the decider before stunning Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(6).
Photo by Getty Images
13
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Marie Bouzkova saved two match points serving at 4-5 in the final set before defeating Bianca Andreescu 6-7(9), 6-2, 7-5 in the Phillip Island Trophy semifinals.
Photo by Tennis Australia/Luke Hemer
14
/48
The Adelaide quarterfinals saw Jil Teichmann fail to take five match points against Anastasija Sevastova in the second set, but face down two at 4-5 in the third before winning 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-5.
Photo by Tennis Australia/James Elsby
15
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A rollercoaster second round in Lyon saw Camila Giorgi eventually overcome Nina Stojanovic 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(5). In the third set Giorgi trailed 0-2, then led 5-3, then saved two match points serving down 5-6.
Photo by Alexandre Hergott/Open 6ème Sens - Métropole de Lyon
16
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After letting a 5-1 third-set lead and four match points slip away, Coco Gauff had to stave off two match points in a decisive tiebreak before gritting out a 7-6(3), 2-6, 7-6(8) win over Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Dubai first round.
Photo by Getty Images
17
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Astra Sharma beat Harriet Dart 6-3, 6-2 in the final round of Guadalajara qualifying and, when the Briton made the main draw as a lucky loser, saved one match point at 4-5 in the decider to win their first-round reprise 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(2).
Photo by Imagen Shop/Abierto Zapopan
18
/48
Elise Mertens trailed Jessica Pegula 5-7, 2-5 after two hours of play in the Dubai quarterfinals - but came back to take the last 11 games, saving three match points at 4-5, for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-0 triumph.
Photo by Getty Images
19
/48
World No.241 Anastasia Gasanova faced down three match points in the second-set tiebreak against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach her first WTA quarterfinal 1-6, 7-6(8), 7-6(4) in an all-Russian second-round derby in St. Petersburg.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
20
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Sara Sorribes Tormo became the first player to win from match point down twice in 2021 when she came from 1-5 down in the third set, saving two match points at 3-5 and 4-5, to beat Bernarda Pera 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 in the first round of Miami.
Photo by Miami Open/Peter Staples
21
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Playing outside Australia for the first time in 13 months, Ashleigh Barty trailed World No.149 Kristina Kucova 2-5 in the third set in round two of Miami - but fired a return winner to save one match point at 4-5, and came through 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.
Photo by Getty Images
22
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Aryna Sabalenka trailed Tsvetana Pironkova 0-6, 1-3 in round two of Miami, but saved two match points in an epic third-set tiebreak and won 0-6, 6-3, 7-6(9) on her fourth.
Photo by Miami Open/Peter Staples
23
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The second round of Miami saw Nina Stojanovic squander a 5-2 lead and four set points in the first set against Yulia Putintseva, but come from 2-5 down and save two match points at 4-5 in the second to win 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.
Photo by Miami Open/Peter Staples
24
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Maria Sakkari saved six match points against Jessica Pegula in the fourth round of Miami, five at 4-5 in the decider and one in the tiebreak, to win 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(6). Sakkari struck clean winners on five of those.
Photo by Getty Images
25
/48
In round one of Charleston 2, Nao Hibino lost a 7-5, 5-1 lead and two match points at 5-4 against Misaki Doi, but saved five down 2-5 in the third and progressed 7-5, 5-7, 6-6 ret., when Doi retired due to muscle cramps.
Photo by MUSC Health Women's Open/Chris Smith
26
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For the second time in 2021, Elina Svitolina defeated Petra Kvitova from a set down, saving two match points at 2-5 and 4-5 in the second set before winning their Stuttgart quarterfinal 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-2.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
27
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Jil Teichmann came from 0-2 down in the second set and 1-5 down in the third, saving six match points (four at 2-5 and two at 5-6), before upsetting Elina Svitolina 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) in round one of Madrid.
Photo by Getty Images
28
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Iga Swiatek won from match point down for the first time in a WTA main draw in round three of Rome, saving two down 5-6 in set two before beating Barbora Krejcikova 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 - and going on to win the title.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
29
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Karolina Pliskova staved off three match points at 4-5 in the third set before outlasting Jelena Ostapenko 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(1) in the Rome quarterfinals, winning the final seven points of the match and going on to reach the final.
Photo by WTA/Jimmie48
30
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In a rollercoaster first round in Strasbourg, Shelby Rogers missed a match point in the second-set tiebreak against Christina McHale, but saved one down 4-5 in the decider and won 7-5, 6-7(6), 7-5.
Photo by Internationaux de Strasbourg/C'est qui Maurice?/Michel Grasso
31
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On the opening day of Roland Garros, Petra Kvitova saved a match point at 5-6 in the second set before overcoming qualifier Greet Minnen 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 6-1.
Photo by WTA/Jimmie48
32
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Rebecca Peterson also triumphed in the Roland Garros first round, saving three match points in the second-set tiebreak before defeating Shelby Rogers, 6-7(3), 7-6(8), 6-2.
Photo by WTA/Jimmie48
33
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Anett Kontaveit trailed Viktorija Golubic by a set and 3-5 in the first round of Roland Garros, saved a match point serving down 5-6 - then did not lose another game to win 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-0, her second victory of 2021 after facing match point.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
34
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Katerina Siniakova won the first set from 2-5 down, lost the second from 3-0 up and won the third from 1-5 down, saving two match points at 1-5 and 3-5, to beat Veronika Kudermetova 7-6(7), 5-7, 7-5 in round two of Roland Garros.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
35
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An electric third-round clash at Roland Garros saw Paula Badosa save one match point down 5-6 in the second set en route to defeating Ana Bogdan 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.
Photo by Getty Images
36
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Barbora Krejcikova saved one match point with a backhand swing volley winner down 4-5 in the third set before overcoming Maria Sakkari 7-5, 4-6, 9-7 in the longest Roland Garros semifinal of the Open Era.
Photo by Getty Images
37
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In the first round of Nottingham, lucky loser Marina Melnikova, 32, saved triple match point in the deciding tiebreak to beat Katie Volynets 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(6) - the Russian's second career WTA main draw win and first since Stuttgart 2015.
Photo by Formula TX
38
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The first round of Birmingham saw Anastasia Potapova fend off one match point in the second-set tiebreak to beat Nina Stojanovic, who was fresh off the Nottingham semifinals and who served for the win at 5-4 in set two, 5-7, 7-6(8), 6-4.
Photo by Getty Images for LTA
39
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Alizé Cornet saved one match point serving at 4-5 in the third set against Garbiñe Muguruza in the Berlin quarterfinals, ultimately taking her own fifth match point to win 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) and reach her first grass-court semifinal.
Photo by Getty Images
40
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Victoria Azarenka saved four match points in the third set against Alizé Cornet in round two of Bad Homburg - two as Cornet served for the match at 6-5 and two in the deciding tiebreak - before winning 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7).
Photo by Sportfoto Zimmer/Maurer
41
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A late quarterfinal that stretched into the evening at Eastbourne saw Elena Rybakina save two match points in the second-set tiebreak en route to a 2-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(5) victory over Anastasija Sevastova.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
42
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A No.1 Court evening thriller on the first day of Wimbledon saw lucky loser Kristie Ahn save one match point as Heather Watson served for victory at 5-4 in the third set, before sealing her first Wimbledon win 2-6, 7-6(3), 8-6 over the home favourite.
Photo by Getty Images
43
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Madison Brengle defeated Christina McHale 3-6, 7-5, 10-8 in round one of Wimbledon, despite McHale serving for the match at 5-4 in set two, 5-4 in set three (where Brengle saved four match points) and 8-7 in set three.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
44
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Ivana Jorovic saved one match point at 4-5 in the second set before beating Jaqueline Cristian 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(3) in a first-round Budapest marathon - the Serb's first WTA win in the fifth event of her comeback from elbow surgery.
Photo by Trenka Attila/Hungarian Grand Prix
45
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Down 2-5 in the third set in the first round of Lausanne, Jasmine Paolini saved two match points before coming back to beat Valentini Grammatikopoulou 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 - the Italian's second win from match point down in 2021.
Photo by Ladies Open Lausanne/Mathias Schulz
46
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An all-Czech second-round derby on home soil in Prague saw Katerina Siniakova win from match point down for the second time in 2021, saving one at 5-6 in set two before beating Tereza Smitkova 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-3.
Photo by Livesport Prague Open
47
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Tamara Korpatsch trailed Olga Govortsova 1-6, 2-5 in the first round of Gdynia - but stormed back to win 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 in two hours and 59 minutes, saving two match points serving at 4-5 in set two.
Photo by Andrzej Szkocki
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