Last year’s Australian Open finalists Aryna Sabalenka and Zheng Qinwen both faced dramatic challenges in their second round matches at the Australian Open on Wednesday. Sabalenka held on for the win, but Zheng became the first Top 10 seed to fall this week.
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Sabalenka, world No. 1 and two-time defending champion, fended off 54th-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-3, 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena. Sabalenka had to come back from 5-2 down in the second set before securing the victory in 1 hour and 34 minutes.
But German veteran Laura Siegemund pulled off the first major upset of the tournament, stunning No. 5 seed Zheng 7-6(3), 6-3 at John Cain Arena and denying a potential rematch between Sabalenka and Zheng in this year’s quarter-finals.
Siegemund shock: Zheng, last year’s Olympic gold medalist, entered the event as a potential title contender with a career ranking of No. 5, but the guile of world No. 97 Siegemund prevailed in securing his 11th career Top 10 victory after 2 hours and 16 minutes of play.
Siegemund, a former Top 30 player, came into this match having scored four Top 5 victories in her career – although all of those previous Top 5 upsets came in Stuttgart, her career-best tournament where she was champion in 2017 and vice-champion in 2016.
On Wednesday in Melbourne, however, Siegemund performed as if she were on her beloved clay court at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart. Firing return winners almost at will and easily finding winning passes, Siegemund served through the first set at 5-4.
Zheng managed to fight back and push the first set to a tie-break, but the German was not denied. Siegemund managed to read most of Zheng’s power plays throughout, and she won the final five points of the break to trigger the upset alert.
Siegemund had no trouble getting through the second set, eliminating the Chinese No. 1 and reaching the third round of the Australian Open for the second time in her career. Playing some of her most aggressive tennis, the German tied Zheng in terms of winners, with 29 each.
In her big surprise, Siegemund is the first German woman to claim a Top 5 victory at the Australian Open since Angélique Kerber beat Serena Williams in the 2016 final.
Sabalenka survives: Meanwhile, top seed Sabalenka had to fight back before securing her 16th consecutive victory at Melbourne Park. After a routine first set, Sabalenka found herself trailing 5-2 in the second.
Bouzas Maneiro took a big lead in the second set as she sought her second upset against a reigning Grand Slam champion. The 22-year-old Spaniard toppled reigning champion Marketa Vondrousova on Center Court at Wimbledon last summer.
Sabalenka, however, managed to regain her momentum, winning five games in a row to win the second set and book her place in the third round for the fifth year in a row. She is the first woman to win 16 consecutive Australian Open matches since Victoria Azarenka in 2014.
“She played incredible tennis, especially in the second set,” Sabalenka said. “I’m really happy that I was able to turn this set around.
“There are so many players who play really well in these conditions… Today’s match proved that. The girls can go out there and play without any fear, without losing anything. They can put you in a Really uncomfortable position. You have to go out there, fight, compete and show your best.”
With the victory, Sabalenka remains in the race to retain her world number one ranking coming out of Melbourne, although Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff also have a chance to claim the top spot after the Australian Open.
Sabalenka is also trying to become the first woman to win three consecutive Australian Open singles titles since Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.
Pegula, Andreeva advances: Two other top players, No. 7 seed Jessica Pegula and No. 14 seed Mirra Andreeva, also earned spots in the third round on Wednesday afternoon – but they took very different paths to get there.
Pegula beat former Australian Open semi-finalist Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-2. Pegula, who reached three consecutive Australian Open quarterfinals between 2021 and 2023, needed an hour and 11 minutes to beat Mertens, the top-ranked unseeded player.
Even though this result was written on paper, it was a big victory for Pegula. The American had never beaten the Belgian Mertens in his three previous meetings.
On the other hand, Andreeva, 17, had to go the absolute distance before defeating the Japanese Moyuka Uchijima, 63rd, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(8). Uchijima led 5-3 in the deciding set before the teenager stormed back to claim a 2 hour and 19 minute victory.
More to come…
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