Melbourne, January 15: In a stunning day of action at the ongoing Australian Open, the defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Paris Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, with the latter being knocked out of the competition while Sabalenka managed to survive and keep her campaign alive.
Sabalenka defeated the 54th-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-3, 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena. In the second set, Sabalenka was down 5-2 but fought well to secure the win in one hour and 34 minutes.
On the other hand, German veteran Laura Siegemund stunned the fifth-seed Zheng by 7-6(3), 6-3 on John Cain Arena, eliminating chances of a Sabalenka-Zheng rematch, after Sabalenka got better of her in five matches, including the Australian Open 2024 final.
Zheng came into the tournament as a massive title contender at the ranking of five, but she fell to world number 97 Laura within two hours and 16 minutes of play. Laura clinched the 11th career Top 10 win.
Sabalenka in her match, secured five games in a row to reach the second set and make it to round three. She is the first woman to secure 16 successive Australian Open matches since Victoria Azarenka in 2014.
"She played incredible tennis, especially in the second set," Sabalenka said as quoted by the WTA website.
"I am really happy I was able to turn around that set. There is so many players who are playing really well in these conditions ... Today's match proved that. Girls can go there and just play without any fear, without anything to lose. They can put you in really uncomfortable position. You have to go out there and fight and compete and show your best," she added.
She also attempted to become the first woman to secure three successive Australian Open titles since Martina Hingis (1997-1999).
On the other hand, Siergermund had headed into the match with four of her top five wins in her career. She fired return winners and passing winners effortlessly. Though the first set was pushed to a tiebreak, the German managed to hold her nerves and secure a win.
In the next set, Siegermund demolished Zheng and moved to the third round of the Australian Open for the second time ever.
"I am very happy and very proud of my performance. I expected a very, very tough game against this kind of top player. I think she is one of the best in the world."
"It is never going to be easy, and there will be continuous through the match, like, tough situations to solve. But I wanted to come out, you know, courageous. I wanted to show the variety of my game, be very aggressive, and that's what I did," said Siegermund.
