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Women’s top seed Iga Swiatek avoided a big upset on Day 5 of the 2024 Australian Open, while men’s title-hopeful Carlos Alcaraz also faced stiff resistance from Lorenzo Sonego.
Not everyone, however, was as lucky. Last year’s finalist Elena Rybkina fell in the second round after a heroic battle that saw her and Anna Blinkova go toe-to-toe from the baseline for almost three hours. The Kazakh was joined by a handful of other big names whose campaigns were cut short.
Let’s take a look at the biggest upsets from Day 5 of the Australian Open:
Anna Blinkova def. Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina
Anna Blinkova and Elena Rybakina played the match of the tournament so far, slugging it out from the baseline for two hours and 46 minutes. It was the underdog who showed incredible spirit to the contest after nine wasted opportunities to take the match 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(20).
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The win included the longest tiebreaker in a singles Grand Slam match, with both players coming up with one incredible match point save after the other. Blinkova finally fell to her knees after a mid-court backhand from Rybakina flew wide, handing the Russian her biggest win by ranking.
To her credit, Blinkova played the match with a never-say-die attitude, matching her more fancied opponent in most departments. She had a better first serve winning percentage and even posted the fastest serve (192 kmph) of the contest. In the end, the resolve shone through.
Arthur Cazaux def. Holger Rune
21-year-old Arthur Cazaux scored the biggest upset at the Australian Open Day 5 on the men’s side, taking out sixth seed Holger Rune 7-6(4), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
The young Frenchman was buoyed by some lights-out serving, which helped him total an impressive 51 winners. That, added with his ability to hold his nerves in the big moments made him a nightmare to play against.
Rune was not terrible on the day, posting 48 to 40 ratio for winners to errors, but just could not find a response to Cazaux's service game .
Clara Burel def. Jessica Pegula
Another French youngster to have scored big on the Day was 22-year-old Clara Burel, who took out a lackluster Jessica Pegula in surprisingly easy fashion 6-4, 6-2.
To her credit, Burel took it upon herself to dictate the rallies. She was good from all parts of the court, not allowing Pegula to feel comfortable on court at any point in the match. Her willingness to charge forward also saw her win a fair few points at the net.
In the end, Burel’s 17 winners outshone Pegula’s nine, with the latter’s 31 errors not helping her cause.
Sloane Stephens def. Daria Kasatkina
Pitted against an in-form Daria Kasatkina, Sloane Stephens also channelled her inner warrior to take a hard-fought three-set win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Kasatkina started the match strong, taking the first set to move into the lead. Just when it began to look like the American was getting stuck in the web of her opponent’s tricky slice-and-dice game, she stepped up.
Stephens began to hit the ball with more intent and that reflected in the numbers, with her leading the baseline winner count at 26, six more than her opponent’s 20.
Nuno Borges def. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
At the age of 26, Nuno Borges began the 2024 season with only two Grand Slam main draw match wins. He has already doubled that number.
The Portuguese player’s win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is extra special because not only is it his biggest by ranking, but also because it also saw him through to his first Grand Slam third round.
Borges does not employ a flashy brand of tennis, but his solid all-court game was enough to push his opponent into overpressing. Davidovich Fokina was wasteful on day, converting only 22% breakpoints and firing 51 errors en-route to the 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-3 loss.
