MELBOURNE, Jan 16: Inspired American teenager Learner Tien outlasted three-times Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev to reach the third round with a 6-3 7-6(4) 6-7(8) 1-6 7-6(7) victory in a late-night epic on Thursday.
Qualifier Tien’s seemed to be fading after fifth seed Medvedev saved a match point with an ace in the third set tiebreak and stormed back from two sets down to set up a decider on Margaret Court Arena. But the 19-year-old tapped into his last reserves of energy to become youngest American man to reach the third round at the Australian Open since Pete Sampras did so aged 18 in 1990.
Medvedev looked clear favourite in the decider with Tien clearly fatigued but the world number 121 courageously stayed with the Russian in a series of gruelling rallies.
After a brief rain delay and with the clock approaching 3am, Medvedev served for the match at 6-5 but Tien refused to go away and broke back to send the contest into a first-to-10 deciding tiebreak.
Medvedev led 6-4 but Tien stormed back to claim a sensational victory on his first match point as a weary Medvedev floated a return over the baseline to bring the near five-hour tussle to an end.
SWIATEK IN ROUND 3
Iga Swiatek rushed through the first set in 26 minutes and completed her 6-0, 6-2 second-round win over Rebecca Sramkova in an hour at the Australian Open.
The five-time Grand Slam champion makes a habit of advancing quickly through the early rounds at the majors. She’s won almost 12% of her sets in Grand Slams by 6-0, which puts her in exclusive company.
So when No. 49-ranked Sramkova ended a seven-game losing run by holding serve on Thursday, she raised her arm to acknowledge the applause from the Rod Laver Arena crowd. It was one of the few chances she had to celebrate.
“It was good to play in such an efficient way and just finish it quick,” Swiatek said. “Also, you know, just feel the court and how it is in RLA.” Second-seeded Swiatek next faces 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu, who recovered from an early break in the second set to hold off Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5.
KOKKINAKIS KYRGIOS RETIRE
Nick Kyrgios’ return to the Australian Open is over after he and Thanasi Kokkinakis stopped playing while trailing in the second set of their first-round doubles on Thursday night.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, the men’s doubles champions at Melbourne Park in 2022, retired while down 7-5, 3-2 against another Australian team, James Duckworth and Aleksandar Vukic.
Both Kyrgios (strained abdominal muscle) and Kokkinakis (right shoulder trouble) came into the match dealing with physical issues after losses in singles.
Danielle Collins got into a back-and-forth with a booing crowd at the Australian Open after eliminating a local player on Thursday night, blowing kisses to the spectators and repeating the phrase, “How about that?!”
The 10th-seeded Collins, an American who was the runner-up to Australia’s Ash Barty in the 2022 final, defeated Destanee Aiava 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-2 across nearly 2 1/2 hours.
That’s when the fun began. First, the 31-year-old Collins — who originally planned to retire after last season but decided to return to the tour in 2025 — held her hand to her left ear and, looking into the stands at Kia Arena, said that three-word phrase a couple of times.
Then, as the jeers grew louder, she began blowing kisses toward the fans.
“The people that don’t like you, and the people that hate you, they actually pay your bills. Obviously my professional career is not going to last forever,” Collins said at her news conference, noting that anyone who “bought a ticket to come out here and heckle me, it’s all going toward the Danielle Collins Fund.” (Agencies)
