After her almost perfect match, Laura Siegemund fell backwards on the court and spread her arms. The German tennis player had just caused a sensation with a surprise coup against Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen at the Australian Open.
The 36-year-old won 7:6 (7:3), 6:3 against the world number five from China and reached the third round of the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne for the third time. There Siegemund will meet Anastasia Pavlyutschenkowa or Anastasia Potapova from Russia on Friday.
“I knew I had to play more than my best tennis”said Siegemund after her completely unexpected but deserved victory. “I know that I can play well too and I wanted to prove that to myself.”
Historic mark for Novak Djokovic
In the men’s category, Novak Djokovic had to stretch a little again – and made history: The Serb achieved a 6:1, 6:7 (4:7), 6:3, 6:2 victory over Melbourne debutant Jaime Faria from Portugal another milestone in his great career. With his 430th Grand Slam match, he overtook the previous record holder Roger Federer. As in the first round, the 37-year-old gave a somewhat surprising set.
“I love this sport, I love the competition. It’s been over 20 years that I’ve been able to play at Grand Slams at the highest level. Whether I win or lose, I always leave my heart on the court“Djokovic said: “Grand Slams are clearly the most important tournaments in this sport and I’m happy to have set a new record today.” Rival Carlos Alcaraz had also previously highlighted his impressive early form. The Spanish top star made short work of his second-round opponent Yoshihito Nishioka from Japan. Alcaraz won easily 6:0, 6:1, 6:4.
Tajana Maria has no chance
For Tatjana Maria, however, it was the end of the line in the second round. The 37-year-old had to admit defeat to the favorite Dane Clara Tauson 2:6, 2:6. Maria is the first of four German players who started in the main field to be eliminated.
The world number 97. From the start, Siegemund acted at least on an equal footing with Zheng. She played very variably and courageously in the John Cain Arena and seemed to have come up with a clear plan against the Chinese. “Laura plays fantastic tennis,” Ex-player Andrea Petkovic enthused at Eurosport. “She plays an almost flawless match here.”
Match point converted after 2:16 hours
After Siegemund only weakened to win the set on her own serve in the first set, she found her rhythm again in the tiebreak and won it thanks to her more aggressive style of play.
In the second set, the doubles specialist took the first two service games from her opponent. On the second break, she also benefited from a penalty for Zheng for exceeding the time limit on serve. After 2:16 hours, the German converted her second match point.