Muchová needs nine match points to beat Osaka; Alexandrova stuns Nosková

Karolína Muchová admitted afterwards that she had been shaking. The No. 7 seed needed nine match points to beat Naomi Osaka 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 in the fourth round of the China Open on Tuesday, in a match that lasted two hours and 52 minutes, and reached the Beijing quarterfinals.

Eight match points saved, then a volley

Muchová trailed 4-1 in the opening set before she came back to take it 7-5. Osaka then raced through the second set 6-1 and went 3-1 up in the decider. The Czech fought back and earned her first match points at 5-4 with Osaka serving. Osaka saved five of them in that game alone and three more in the tiebreak. Muchová finally converted the ninth with a deft volley at the net to take the tiebreak 9-7.

The numbers showed how messy it got. Muchová made 50 unforced errors in the match, according to Flashscore. "I honestly didn't even believe I will finish the match. So many match points, I didn't know how many. I was shaking," she said afterwards. "I think she played always great and steady. I'm happy I made the last volley."

It is Muchová's fourth WTA 1000 quarterfinal of 2026, in a season that also took her to the Wimbledon final, where she lost to Linda Nosková in an all-Czech title match.

All-Czech quarterfinal with a practice partner

Next up is Nikola Bartůňková, and the two know each other well. They train at the same club in Prague and often practise together on tour. The No. 26 seed beat Austria's Sinja Kraus in three sets earlier on Tuesday to reach her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal, two days after she upset top seed Aryna Sabalenka.

Alexandrova routs Nosková, Andreeva cruises

The day's biggest upset came from Ekaterina Alexandrova. The 19th seed took apart Wimbledon champion Linda Nosková in straight sets, losing only four games and never dropping serve in 66 minutes. At 31, Alexandrova is the oldest first-time quarterfinalist in Beijing's history.

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She will face No. 4 seed Mirra Andreeva, who also lost only four games against Ukraine's Daria Snigur. The 19-year-old hit six aces, made 18 winners against 15 unforced errors and broke serve five times in just over an hour. It was her 11th quarterfinal of the season and her 48th match win of 2026, a total only Jessica Pegula (50) and Elena Rybakina (49) have beaten.

The head-to-head favours the veteran. Alexandrova has won both of their previous meetings, in Stuttgart in 2025 and in Bad Homburg this year. "I didn't beat her yet. I will try my best to finally get that first win against her," Andreeva said. Alexandrova tried to play the record down: "I'm trying not to think about the head-to-head. It creates more tension and pressure."

With Rybakina and Sabalenka both already gone, the draw is open. The other half of the quarterfinal line-up comes from Wednesday's fourth-round matches, Coco Gauff against Elise Mertens and Iga Świątek against Iva Jovic. The quarterfinals are scheduled for 8 and 9 October.