18-year-old Mirra Andreeva won the first 8 matches and then raised her level, energy and intensity when necessary in a tighter second set to beat Maria Sakkari 6-0 6-4 in 67 minutes at the Margaret Court Arena late on Wednesday afternoon.
It was better here [on John Cain Arena] without the wind. She was a really tough opponent. I have to rest. The goal is always to stay focused on the next match. I always feel the love from the Italian community in Melbourne. Thanks for staying here to cheer me on, it’s late. Grazie! Jasmine Paolini
The Russian eighth seed faced a tough first-round task as she came back from a set down to beat experienced Croatian Donna Vekic, ensuring she was completely locked in against the Greek former world number three in a match of two halves.
She stormed out of the blocks to bagelize the first set in just 26 minutes, while Sakkari committed 10 unforced errors and struggled to serve in the first 15 minutes, winning just 2 of her 13 first serve points.
Whether sailing long and far or simply taking the net, Sakkari was initially unable to find a rhythm, and Andreeva, the highest-ranked teenager on the WTA Tour, made life difficult for the Greek, often dictating her movement in the longer rallies and outdoing her on those points.
“We know that Maria is a very aggressive player,” Andreeva said later. “She likes to take her forehand. She likes to take her backhand, too. I tried to neutralize her shots on the baseline.”
“I just tried to be solid, but at the same time, if I have the opportunity to step in and take advantage of whatever position I’m in, I would try to do that.”
The Greek did make an appearance midway through the second set, after Andreeva had already built a 6-0, 2-0 lead, when the current world number 53 suddenly came alive and started taking a few risks by attacking her opponent.
Her more aggressive approach began to pay off and Sakkari eventually held serve for the first time after 40 minutes, breaking at love and holding on to love for a surprise 3–2 lead.
Andreeva responded by digging in as Sakkari gained momentum and her Greek fans started making some noise.
The former Roland Garros semi-finalist began celebrating each of the big points she won with more volume and, when it came to the crux, the confidence she had gained from all those match victories so far this year perhaps helped her stay on track until 4-4, when Sakkari buckled under the pressure to drop her serve after missing two crucial groundstrokes.
Andreeva held her nerve in the exciting tenth match that followed and served for the match for the sixth consecutive victory of the new season.
Afterwards, Andreeva admitted she had no choice but to find her best tennis from Day 1.
“When I saw the draw I thought, ‘Wow, it’s not the easiest draw you can have’. I think it helps to be 100 percent since the first match you play,” admitted Andreeva, who arrived in Melbourne after winning her fourth title in Adelaide last weekend. “Sometimes you want to have some time to get into the tournament, but here I didn’t really have that time. I had to start straight away at 100 percent and I think the tough draw for [helping] this.
“Playing a great week for a Grand Slam helps a lot, it gives a lot of confidence. I felt great on the court. For sure, the conditions here are a bit different: it’s windier and we don’t have a roof.”
“It helps to get into the rhythm of the match. You know, opponents will be difficult from the first match. I know the statistic that the Adelaide winners don’t do badly here, but I’m not going to think about it. We’ll see if that statistic works for me.”
Andreeva’s reward is a meeting on Friday with Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse, who defeated Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 6-4 earlier on Day 4.
As for Sakkari, she clocked just seven winners against Andreeva, and none in the first set, and was plagued by 27 unforced errors, with the Russian needing just 11 winners on the night.
“It was very clear that I didn’t hit the ball enough in that first set,” Sakkari later admitted. “I was too passive, I must say. I tried to make more balls, but I don’t think that was the right thing to do. There was actually nothing on my ball. This is obviously not good form, but I think anyone can be beaten.”
© Izhar Khan/AFP via Getty Image
Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini also advanced to the Last 32, where she battled tough competition, rain delays and a stadium change to beat Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6-2 6-2 in a late-finishing second round match on Wednesday night, which started at a homeless Kia Arena before being completed at John Cain after rain interrupted play.
The match proved much tougher for Paolini than the result suggests, with the Italian regularly cutting a frustrated figure despite her straight-set win.
The win should boost Paolini’s confidence as she looks to improve on her previous best performance in the fourth round in Melbourne.
Although she took the first set, the Italian struggled on her serve, saving nine break points before finally being broken when serving for the set at 5-2.
She immediately recovered and broke back to close out the opener, and the second set opened with both breakouts before Paolini held firm and gave away another 2 break points.
The Italian broke again before finally enjoying a comfortable service game, holding at love for 4-1, but the stubborn Frech, backed by Polish fans, refused to lie down, and she held serve before breaking Paolini to take the match back to 4-3.
Paolini unleashed her frustrations on her team after missing a simple volley at the net, but then recovered enough to take the decisive break with an excellent backhand down the line.
The Italian then held her nerve to seal the second set and victory, no doubt relieved to have a tough match against a tough opponent behind her.
Paolini spoke on the pitch after her win, praising Frech, as well as her vocal Italian support.
“It was better here [on John Cain Arena] without the wind. She was a very difficult opponent,” she said. “I have to rest. The goal is always to stay focused on the next match. I always feel the love from the Italian community in Melbourne. Thanks for staying here to cheer me on, it’s late. Grazie!”
Paolini will face exciting young American Iva Jovic, the No. 24 seed, who defeated Aussie wildcard Priscilla Hon 6-1 6-2 earlier in the day.
The Italian defeated Jovic at the US Open last year in the third round.
Karolina Muchova, seeded 19, outlasted Alycia Parks in 3 sets to set up a Last 32 meeting with Magda Linette
© Phil Walter/Getty Images
A very unusual event occurred in the second round match between Karolina Muchova and Alycia Parks.
The Czech emerged victorious against the American after 2 hours and 37 minutes, 4-6 6-4 6-4, to set up a meeting with Magda Linette in the third round, but during her match against Parks she was penalized with a points deduction for premature celebration.
Muchova hit a stunning backhand down the court and celebrated, not realizing her opponent had managed to hit the ball back and clinch the point.
The Czech is at her best when she makes her opponents uncomfortable with her variety, mixing length, changing pace, dragging big hitters into longer rallies and forcing hesitation.
But Parks, who recorded 39 winners and 58 unforced errors, pushed the 2021 semi-finalist to the end, with the American brilliantly saving the triple match point on her serve in the penultimate game, and even managing to hold on to a break point to level the score at 5-5, but Muchova had made a fast start in both the second and third sets, virtually holding on to her lead in both sets.
Muchova’s next hurdle is Poland’s Linette, a 33-year-old ranked 50th, who reached the Last 32 with a routine victory over another American, Ann Li, 6-3 6-3, to the delight of the army of Polish fans scattered around Melbourne Park.
In other results late Wednesday, Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva made light work of France’s Elsa Jacquemot, 6-1 6-2, to set up a third-round meeting with Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez, a qualifier, who was a 6-2 6-4 winner over Hungary’s Anna Bondar.
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