Epic match in Australia: 16 match points in 31 minutes and the longest tie break in history

Hit and match for history in Melbourne. The Kazakh and last finalist of the Australian Open, Elena Rybakina (number 3 in the world), stumbled in the second round against the Russian Anna Blinkova, which occupies 57th place in the WTA rankings, 6-4, 4-6 and 7-6(20), with ten match points for the Russian and six for the Kazakh, and a record final tie break, with 31 minutes . And the final deciding match, at nearly 31 minutes and 22-20, is the longest in women’s tennis at a Grand Slam tournament.

Rybakina will drop to fifth in the WTA rankings after losing 1,230 points after falling well short of the final she reached in 2023.

“He gave me a lot of energy, fighting until the end. Moments you like. It was very difficult. Stay focused, lots of match points. I tried to be aggressive but my hand was shaking, as were my legs. “Very happy to have won in the end,” he commented on the same track after two hours and 46 minutes of battle.

“I will never forget this day,” commented Blinkova, who equaled her best result in a slam after beating Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in the first round and the third favorite in the second.

Blinkova, who finished the match with six aces, 28 winners and 48 unforced errors, will face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the next round on Saturday.

“I had a lot of match points. I tried to be aggressive, but My hands and legs were shaking too.. I tried with all my strength to keep calm and in the end I succeeded and I am very happy. I told myself to be solid. I kept passing balls to the other side and in the end it worked,” said the winner who had lost 9 balls before winning.