Australian Open Melbourne Park Miracles – Day 5 (Betfair)

 

The great players are defined ultimately by the number of titles they win, but the true story of why players become number one in the world is hidden in the details of their journey.

 

Winning when you shouldn’t, and when you seemingly have no right to do so, but simply finding a way to stay in the contest is what marks a champion. It’s not your day but you refuse to go home, and that attitude was summed up in the performance of Poland’s Iga Swiatek yesterday.

 

The World No.1 has had on paper one of the hardest draws a player of her ranking could receive at a major. First up it was 2021 champion Sofia Kenin, and in the second round, it was 2022 finalist Danielle Collins.

 

With both players returning from injury and entering the tournament unseeded, it made them dangerous floaters in the draw.

 

Swiatek was staring down the barrel at 1-4 in the third set with two breaks, and the market reflected her struggles as she peaked at $7.

 

Collins, a former world No.7, was $1.17 at the same stage, and was matched for $13,000 at less than $1.20!

 

Swiatek rattled off five straight games, including three breaks of serve in a row, to pull the contest out of the fire. The four-time Grand Slam champion also drifted from $3.60 out to $28 to win the title during that third set. She is now back into a tournament low of $3.25.

 

The stunning results haven’t stopped all through the event, with America’s Jessica Pegula beaten in straight sets after opening the contest at $1.12 yesterday.

 

The night session on Rod Laver Arena was expected to be a straightforward one for last year’s finalist Elena Rybakina, but what followed made history, with an outrageous third set tie-break.

 

Rybakina fought back from a set down to force a decider, and that third set went to a 10-point tie-break. That breaker would be the longest in grand slam Women’s tennis history, stretching 31 minutes and finishing with the underdog Anna Blinkova prevailing 22-20!

 

The two combatants had 13 match points between them and the odds would fluctuate remarkably throughout.

 

Rybakina started the breaker at $1.41 and dropped to $2.96 when down 1-4. She hit her highest price at $5.30 when down match points at 7-9 and shortened it back to $1.18 when serving for the match at 18-17.

 

Blinkova would start the tie-break at $3.14, shorten into $1.23 when holding match points at 9-7, and would trade at higher than $6 at three different stages throughout.

 

Daniil Medvedev closed out the night session by coming from two sets down and a max price of $3.95!

 

Last year’s semi-finalist Jiri Lehecka lost in four sets earlier in the day after being as short as $1.10 in the run.

 

What happens next? Let’s find out.

 

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