AO 2024 Women’s Day 4

Mirra Andreeva blew away her childhood tennis idol in the Australian Open second round as the 16-year-old crushed three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur 6-0, 6-2.

The lightning 56-minute rout marked the first Top 10 victory for the rising prodigy, junior champion here a year ago.

The adventurous Andreeva was a day removed from handling a snake and stroking a koala as a selection of Aussie animals were brought along with their keepers to the player area at Melbourne Park.

“I held a snake with my agent – he was so scared but I made him do it,” the teenager ranked 47 said.

The youngster’s dismissal of sixth seed Jabeur came at Andreeva’s fourth Grand Slam appearance, with her best so far being last summer’s Wimbledon fourth round.

.”I was really nervous before the match with Ons,” she said. “I’ve always been inspired by her and the way she plays, I used to watch all of her matches on TV.

“Now I had the chance to play her.  In the first set (20 minutes long) I showed

an amazing tennis, I did not expect that from myself

“Last year I played the junior final on this Laver court, but I’m a bit more mature now.

“I’ve changed a lot – you can see that on the court.”
 

Jabeur has lost in the second round at a major only twice before, here a year ago and at 2018 Wimbledon; she has gone out six times in the first round.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka schooled 16-year-old Czech prodigy Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-3, XXX.

The youngster, coached by Dominic Thiem’s former mentor Nicolas Massu, put up an early after breaking Sabalenka’s opening serve before finally falling to the world No. 2.

Sabalenka was the third Top 10 opponent that Fruhvirtova had ever played and left an indelible impression on the seed..

“For age 16 she is doing an incredible job,” Sabalenka said. “I wish I could have been at that level when I was 16.

“I’m super-happy with the win, I was focusing on myself and nothing else, just fighting for every point.

“I was not thinking of her age, I did not want to let this young lady go to the next round.”

The tennis comeback effort of former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki took a beating as the Dane lost 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 to 170th-ranked qualifier Maria Timofeeva.

The outsider was making her Grand Slam debut as she faced the 2018 Melbourne champion who retired in 2020 but returned to the sport last August as a mother of two.

Wozniacki was competing here for the 14th time as she played in her fifth event since stepping back into the sport.

Coco Gauff, the reigning US Open champion and Melbourne fourth seed, had to fight off determined fellow American Caroline Dolehide to finally earn a 7-6 (2), 6-2 trip into the third round.

The teenaged Gauff led 4-1 in the opening set but found herself at 5-4 in a set which led to a tiebreak which she dominated.

Gauff asserted herself in the second set to close out victory in 1hr, 45mins, with her opponent saving three match points before driving a forehand into the net to end a game of six deuces.  

“It was really hard to get through the first set,” Gauff , won with seven straight match wins, said. “I started out playing well but I didn’t mix up my serve enough.

“If you give her a short ball she will punish it. I played deeper and heavy in the second set.

“I didn’t have any nerves today, I was just trying to play good tennis.”

2022 quarter-finalist and former Roland Garros winner Barbora Krejcikova barely registered in a 6-2, 6-2 loss to German Tamara Korpatcsh which took less than 90 minutes.

American Amanda Anisimova beat Argentine Nadia Podoroska 6-2, 6-3.

Canada;s 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez lost her second consecutive Grand Slam in the first round, going down to American Alycia Parks 7-5, 6-4.

Fernandez has not gone past the second round at a major since a Roland Garros quarter-final two years ago.

Australian qualifier Storm Hunter stopped Germany’s Laura Siegeund 6-4, 3-6.

Main photo:-Caroline Wozniacki losing in second round match – by ISF LTD