10 of the best wins from match point down in 2022: No 3: Kvitova beats Muguruza, US Open, third round

In 2022, a total of 140 matches on the ATP/WTA Tours were won from match point down; 81 on the men’s side and 59 on the women’s side. Two men – Jannik Sinner and Dominic Thiem – did it four times while two women – Petra Kvitova and Jessica Pegula managed it on a Tour-topping three occasions.

Tennis Majors has picked out 10 of the best of those 140 matches, where one player escaped from the jaws of defeat to claim an unlikely victory.

No 3: US Open, third round: Petra Kvitova beats Garbine Muguruza 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (10)

This was the third match for Petra Kvitova in 2022 in which she had faced match point and won but it didn’t look like she was getting out of this hole when she dropped to 5-3 down in the final set against former world No 1 Garbine Muguruza.

The US Open has never been her happiest of hunting grounds, the relentless noise of the crowd off-putting and the humidity no good for her asthma. But the two-time Wimbledon champion is a fighter and at 5-6, she saved two match points, the first with an ace down the T and the second when Muguruza netted a forehand.

The deciding-set tiebreak had its own share of drama, too, as Kvitova led 8-5 and had three match points before finally getting over the line, a brilliant forehand winner giving her a fourth chance and then Muguruza missed a forehand in the net to give Kvitova an emotional victory.

The Czech said she’d taken inspiration from the performance of Serena Williams, who had saved five match points before eventually going down to Ajla Tomljanovic in what looks like being her last ever professional match.

“I watched Serena last night and it was amazing how she was saving those match points,” Kvitova said on-court. “I tried to do the same today.”