In a dramatic second-round clash at the Australian Open, third seed Elena Rybakina's bid for back-to-back finals came to an end with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (20) defeat against Russian Anna Blinkova.
The match reached historic proportions with a tie-break lasting over 30 minutes, setting a grand slam record at 42 points. Blinkova sealed the victory on her 10th match point, prompting a memorable celebration and a standing ovation from the Rod Laver Arena crowd.
“This day I’ll remember for the rest of my life, on this court with this crowd, it’s the best of my life so far,” expressed Blinkova after sharing a post-match hug with Rybakina. Grateful for the crowd's support, she added, “Thank you to the crowd for encouraging me, it gave me so much energy to fight until the end. It was super tough, I tried to stay focused on every point. I had so many match points and tried to be aggressive at these moments, but my hand was shaking, and my legs too.”
In an inspiring display of resilience, Blinkova, having saved six match points, left the court to thunderous cheers after leaving a motivational message on a courtside camera lens, "NEVER GIVE UP."
