Tennis player Linda Nosková beat the American McCartney Kessler 6:3, 1:6, 6:4 at the Australian Open and advanced to the 3rd round at the Grand Slam for the first time in her life. Jiří Lehečka, on the other hand, surprisingly ends, losing to the American Alex Michelsen 6:4, 3:6, 4:6, 4:6.
The 19-year-old Czech was not affected by a rain break in Melbourne and won in one hour and 53 minutes.
Nosková, the 50th player in the world, confirmed her role as the favorite against Kessler. She defeated the 24-year-old American despite 32 unforced errors.
She won the first set thanks to a break in the sixth game. She was 100 percent on serve and used the second set point.
In the second set, however, Kessler, the 206th tennis player in the WTA rankings, responded. After two breaks, she leveled the match.
The decisive third set was interrupted due to rain at 4:3 and 40:40 for Nosková. Although coach Tomáš Krupa’s ward did not use several break points after her return, in the tenth game she worked out a match point during the opponent’s service and took advantage of it.
Thus, the Czech tennis player improved her Grand Slam maximum during her first participation in the main competition of the Australian Open. Her furthest so far was in the 2nd round last year at Roland Garros and the US Open.
She will face Poland’s Iga Šwiateková for a place in the round of 16. The world number one beat the American Danielle Collins 6:4, 3:6, 6:4.
The 22-year-old native of Warsaw defeated last year’s finalist even though she was already losing 1:4 in the deciding set.
Šwiateková lost her serve six times in the match. She lost it for the first time in the fourth game, but managed to react immediately. At 3:3, the match was interrupted by rain and the game was played under a cloudy roof. The Polish woman won another break in the ninth game and then served out the set.
Šwiateková also had a promising entry into the second set and won a break in the opening game. But then she lost serve three times and Collins ran away to a 5-1 lead. Although the tournament’s number one averted five set points in the next course, the American already used the sixth one during her serve.
Editing of the match Šwiateková – Collinsová | Video: Associated Press
In the decisive third set, Collins earned two more breaks thanks to her aggressive service play. Šwiateková was losing 1:4 and faced three more break points at 2:4. But she managed to withstand the difficult moments, won the next five games and converted the third match point after almost three hours of play.
“God, I don’t even know how I turned it around. Honestly, I was already on my way to the airport. However, I wanted to fight until the end because she played great, but it’s not easy for anyone to maintain such a high level of play, so I wanted to be ready, if he starts making mistakes,” said Šwiateková. “I’m proud of myself because it really wasn’t easy today.”
The 30-year-old Collins said after the match that it was her last appearance at Melbourne Park as she plans to retire this year.
In the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, Lehečka played the role of the 32nd seed, but after losing to the 91st player in the world, Michelsen, he lost the chance to defend last year’s quarter-final appearance in Melbourne.
The twenty-third tennis player in the WTA ranking did not follow up on the recent triumph from the tournament in Adelaide and lost after six matches. In the match, which was interrupted three times due to rain, even ten aces and 40 winning balls did not help him. Among other things, he paid for 53 unforced errors.
At the same time, Lehečka had a well-played duel. Thanks to two breaks, he won the first set in thirty-nine minutes. But Michelsen then improved his serve and the Czech player continued to avoid unforced errors. In the eighth game, he lost serve and his nineteen-year-old opponent equalized.
In the third set, the match was broken for the first time at 2:2 and 40:30 when Leheček served. Coach Michal Navrátil’s protege lost his serve after returning to the court, and Michelsen turned the duel around despite another break.
Even the third break before the fourth set did not help Leheček. He also did not find a recipe for his opponent’s serve in it. In the ninth game, Michelsen broke him again and served out the match. In the next stage, he will face the tournament’s number six, the German Alexander Zverev.
unlike Šwiateková, seeded fifth seed Jessica Pegulaová from the USA did not avoid elimination. The quarter-finalist of the last three years of the Australian Open was eliminated in 70 minutes after winning 6:4, 6:2 by Frenchwoman Clara Burelová and caused the biggest surprise of the tournament so far.
Close to defeat was sixth seed Alexander Zverev, who was tormented by Slovakian qualifier Lukáš Klein for four and a half hours. The German favorite won 7:5, 3:6, 4:6, 7:6, 7:6 and had only words of praise for his opponent.
“To be honest, he probably deserved to advance more than I did. He played unbelievable, hit hard from both sides and I often didn’t know what to do. But that’s the way it is in tennis sometimes. I’m glad to be in the next round, but his ranking position definitely does not correspond to the quality of his game,” said Zverev about the 25-year-old Klein, who has only played a main event at a Grand Slam in 2022 at Wimbledon. The next opponent of the Olympic winner from Tokyo will be Leheček’s conqueror Michelsen.
Today, Kateřina Siniaková will try to advance to the 3rd round against the Swiss Viktorija Golubicová and 18-year-old Jakub Menšík, who will face the world number nine Hubert Hurkacz from Poland.
Tennis Australian Open in Melbourne (hard court, 86.5 million AUD endowment):
Men:
Singles – Round 2: Michelsen (USA) – Lightweight (32-CZE) 4:6, 6:3, 6:4, 6:4, Zverev (6-German) – Klein (SR) 7:5, 3:6, 4:6, 7:6 (7 :5), 7:6 (10:7), Ruud (11-Nor.) – Purcell (Aust.) 6:3, 6:7 (5:7), 6:3, 3:6, 7:6 (10:7), Norrie (19-Brit.) – Zeppieri (It.) 3:6, 6:7 (4:7), 6:2, 6:4, 6:4.
Singles – 2nd round: Noskova (CZ) – Kesslerová (USA) 6:3, 1:6, 6:4, Šwiateková (1-Pol.) – Collinsová (USA) 6:4, 3:6, 6:4, Paoliniová (26-It. ) – Mariaová (Germany) 6:2, 6:3, Kalinská (Russia) – Rusová (Netherlands) 6:1, 7:5, Dodinová (Fr.) – Trevisanová (It.) 6:4, 6 :4.
Doubles – 1st round: Krawczyková, Šibaharaová (6-USA/Japan) – KolodziejováChromačová (ČR/Rus.) 6:1, 6:4, Bucsaová, Panovová (Šp./Rus.) – BouzkovaSorribesová (12-CR/SP) 6:2, 2:6, 6:4.
2024-01-18 05:30:11
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