Melbourne (AFP)
A series of 18 consecutive victories was halted for Poland's Iga Swijnietek, ranked first in the world, when she suffered a shocking and earthquake-like loss to the young Czech Linda Noskova 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the third round of the Australian Open tennis tournament, the first of the four major tournaments, while Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, second in the world, qualified easily against a young Chinese man.
She was the holder of four major titles on her way to the round of 16 after winning the first set, but the 19-year-old, ranked 50th in the world, overturned her deficit and achieved the most prominent victory in her young career.
Noskova, who decided the match in two hours and 20 minutes, said: “I am at a loss for words. I knew it would be a great match, but I did not expect it to end like this, and I am happy to qualify.”
Noskova, who is competing in the Australian Championship for the first time, will meet Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (23) or Swiss Viktoria Golubich (85) in the next round.
Shevuntek, who made a remarkable comeback in the second round against American Danielle Collins, the previous runner-up, broke her opponent's serve in the sixth game, and decided the first set in 43 minutes.
But the two players faced difficulty on their serves in a tense second set, until the sixth game, when Noskova led 5-3 with a clean break of serve, then decided the set.
Šwijontek succumbed in the third game of the deciding set, which put her in serious trouble, but she regained her breath after talking with her coaches courtside.
She faced pressure again on her serve, but she made a save and took a 3-2 lead, but it was a temporary comeback and gave a new break to Noskova, who was better in the decisive moment.
This is Schwijntek's first major tournament exit since her defeat at Wimbledon 2022.
Shevyontik (22 years old) joined Kazakhstani Elena Rybakina (3) and American Jessica Pegula (5), who were eliminated in the second round, and only three players from the first ten were still in the competition circle at the end of the first week.
Her best result in Australia remains reaching the semi-finals in 2022, and this is her first loss since her exit from the quarter-finals of the Tokyo tournament on September 29 at the hands of Russian Veronika Kudermetova.
Among the men, the young Spanish man, Carlos Alcaraz, ranked second in the world, issued a stern warning to his opponents after he easily defeated the young Chinese man, Shang Junzheng, 6-1, 6-1, 1-0, and then withdrew.
A day after Serbian Novak Dekovic, number one in the world, returned to his best levels, Alcaraz remained only 66 minutes on the field.
It was the first time that Alcaraz (20 years old) played a match in professional tournaments against a younger player, when the 18-year-old was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Chang entered the match at Rod Laver Arena wearing bandages on his right thigh, and received treatment during the second set.
Alcaraz did not face any chance to break his serve, and in the round of 16 he faced Serbian Miomir Ketsmanovic, who saved two decisive shots before beating American Tommy Paul, who reached the semi-finals last year, 6-4.3-6.2-6.7-6 and 6-0. .
Alcaraz, who missed the last edition due to injury, said that the method of winning “no one wants” after Shang’s injury.
The player, who reached the fourth round in Australia for the first time in his short career, added: “I missed the tournament last season. I watched the matches from home from the couch. This is the first time I have reached the second week in Australia. “The feeling is special.”
The Murcia native has two major titles to his credit (Flushing Meadows 2022 and Wimbledon 2023).
Likewise, Russian Daniil Medvedev, ranked third, made his way with his seventh successive victory over Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3,6-4, 6-3, despite feeling lethargic.
He meets Portuguese Nuno Borges (69), who surprised Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov XIII in four sets.
It was a different confrontation from the last one, which he ended at 3:40 in the morning against Finnish Emil Ruusuvuori in five sets in the second round.
The Russian admitted that the late matches played a negative role, saying that he did not go to sleep before seven in the morning: “It was not easy, I do not feel fresh or 100%.”
Medvedev, who lost the 2021 final to Djokovic and then Spaniard Rafael Nadal a year later, continued: “It was a difficult match, especially after my last match.”
He explained: “Running was difficult for me, so I tried to send him difficult balls so that he would not run.”
Norwegian Casper Ruud, 11th, was defeated by Britain's Cameron Norrie, 19th, in four sets, while Polish Hubert Hurkacz, ninth, qualified at the expense of Frenchman Ugo Hombre, 21st, in four sets as well.
#Earthquake #Australian #Open