MELBOURNE, Australia—Anna Blinkova needed 10 match points before finally finishing off an upset over 2023 finalist Elena Rybakina in a record, half-hour tiebreaker to reach the third round of the Australian Open.
Blinkova was a break up in all three sets but third-ranked Rybakina rallied each time.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion had six match points of her own before eventually running out of chances against her Russian opponent in a 6–4, 4–6, 7–6 (20) defeat.
In terms of points—42—it was the longest tiebreaker ever in a women’s Grand Slam event.
“It was super tough. I had so many match points,” the No. 57-ranked Blinkova said. “And I tried to be aggressive but my hand was shaking. And my legs, too!
“I tried to be calm, as much as I could. Super happy in the end.”
Unlike Rybakina, top-ranked Iga Swiatek had an escape in the opening match on Rod Laver Arena when she rallied from 4–1 down in the third set to beat 2022 runner-up Danielle Collins 6–4, 3–6, 6–4.
Swiatek was down two service breaks in the deciding set before she went on a five-game winning roll to finish off a match that featured wild momentum shifts and a 25-minute rain delay in 3 hours, 14 minutes.
“You can actually relax a little bit more because you know that, ‘OK, probably I’m going to lose, so I don’t care anymore,’” Swiatek said. “Then it’s easier.”
In her on-court interview, she joked: “Honestly, I was on the airport already.”
“But I wanted to fight to the end, she said. ”I’m really proud of myself.”
Collins announced soon after that 2024 would be her last season on tour.
“Yeah, I lost 6–4 in the third to one of the best players in the world,” Collins said. “And she played some great tennis. (I) left it all on the court.”
In one of the tournament’s toughest opening brackets, both players beat past Australian Open champions in the first round; Swiatek beat 2020 champion Sofia Kenin and Collins overcame 2016 winner Angelique Kerber.
The four-time major winner next faces No. 50-ranked Linda Noskova, who beat U.S. qualifier McCartney Kessler 6–3, 1–6, 6–4.
Fifth-ranked Jessica Pegula’s run of three consecutive quarterfinals in Australia was ended in a 6–4, 6–2 loss to Clara Burel. It was Pegula’s earliest Grand Slam exit since she lost in the second round at Wimbledon in 2021.
Sloane Stephens, the U.S. Open winner in 2017, took out No. 14 seed Daria Kasatkina 4–6, 6–3, 6–3. She advanced along with No. 12 Zheng Qinwen, No. 19 Elina Svitolina (19) and No. 27 Emma Navarro.
Wang Yafan had a 6–4, 4–6, 6–4 win over Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open champion returning from a long-term injury.
Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz dropped a set for the first time in the tournament before recovering to beat Lorenzo Sonego 6–4, 6–7 (3), 6–3, 7–6 (3).
With a strong breeze to contend with, Alcaraz was tested by Lorenzo Sonego before coming through in four sets and will next face 18-year-old Chinese wildcard entry Shang Juncheng, who ousted India’s Sumit Nagal 2–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4.
It’ll be the first time on tour Alcaraz has faced a younger player.
“He beat some big guys,” Alcaraz said of Shang’s run to the semifinals in Hong Kong earlier this month. “So I know he has the level. He’s already there.”
Arthur Cazaux upset No. 8 Holger Rune 7–6 (4), 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 before No. 13 Grigor Dimitrov beat Thanasi Kokkinakis, Australia, 6–3, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4 and No. 27 Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced over Hugo Grenier 6–1, 3–6, 6–1, 6–2.
Two earlier matches went the distance before being decided in 10-point tiebreakers: Olympic champion Alexander Zverev fended off Lukas Klein 7–5, 3–6, 4–6, 7–6 (5), 7–6 (7) in 4 1/2 hours and No. 11 Casper Ruud edged Max Purcell 6–3, 6–7 (5), 6–3, 3–6, 7–6 (7).
“He played incredible. He was hitting every single ball as hard as he could from both sides,” Zverev said of Klein, a No. 163-ranked qualifier from Slovakia. “I didn’t really know what to do most of the times. To be honest, he probably deserved to win the match more than me today.”
