By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with sabcnews.com
Published on 2024-01-20 13:31:41
Top seed Iga Swiatek suffered a surprising defeat in the third round of the Australian Open, losing 3-6 6-3 6-4 to Czech teenage Linda Noskova. This loss ended Swiatek’s hopes of winning her maiden title at Melbourne Park and claiming her fifth Grand Slam trophy. Prior to this match, Swiatek had been struggling in Melbourne, narrowly managing to win her opener against Sofia Kenin and fighting back from the brink of defeat against Danielle Collins.
Despite a strong start, Noskova became the first teenager to defeat the top-ranked player at the Australian Open since 1999. After her victory, Noskova expressed her disbelief and emotions, stating, “I’m speechless, I knew it was going to be an amazing match with the world number one and such a player, but I didn’t really think it would end up like this.”
The match saw Swiatek take an early lead, breaking in the sixth game and holding to love in the next. However, Noskova proved to be a formidable opponent, responding with explosive hitting and ultimately levelling the contest. Though Swiatek made an attempt at a comeback, Noskova secured a 2-1 lead in the final set, ultimately closing out the match on serve to complete a major upset.
Following her defeat, Swiatek admitted that she had been more stressed at Melbourne Park than in other tournaments. She expressed her disappointment, stating that despite putting in the work during the pre-season to improve her game, she felt that things were not working out the same way during the tournament.
In the end, Noskova’s victory was well-deserved and memorable, marking a significant upset and demonstrating her potential as a rising star in the world of tennis. On the other hand, Swiatek was left to reflect on her performance and consider what adjustments she needed to make in order to feel more comfortable in future tournaments.
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