"I didn't have time to get nervous": Lucky loser Eva Lys replaced Anna Kalinskaya on ten minutes notice with flight home booked

Eva Lys already had her flight home booked before she suddenly got into the Main Draw as a lucky loser to replace Anna Kalinskaya at the last minute. The result? A late win over Kimberly Birrell at the Australian Open.

Lys spoke after the win and detailed the crazy circumstances but how in the end she remained ready to play from very early in the morning in case of any withdrawals after members of her team said there was a good chance of a late spot.

With Birrell being an Aussie, she played fairly late on but Lys remained ready as she put 'Lys got Lucky' and that was certainly the case as she prolongs her Australia trip. Birrell in comparison could not handle the weight of expectation as she cried after losing to Lys in the press conference.

From facing the 15th seed with very minimal chance of winning to Lys, it became a nightmare for Birrell who in her own admission couldn't deal with it.

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"I'm obviously very happy that I got in as a lucky loser and I never would've thought that I would have such a nice match especially after my third round qualifying. I found out about it ten minutes before the match so I didn't have time to get nervous. I think that's the thing that really helped me. I had a very loose arm," said Lys in post match press.

"A lot of people around me gave me hope that there's a possibility for me to get in. That's why I was here the whole day starting off at 9am and going back to the hotel at 11pm because you never know when someone is going to pull out and that's exactly what happened. It was very last minute, I had to be ready. I'm very happy I stuck around and that I was able to switch my flight. I went out and had no expectations."

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