Elina
Svitolina, with three comfortable victories and a total of just three hours and
8 minutes spent on the court in her previous three matches, averaging only 4.3
games lost per match, showcased her excellent form from 2023. In that year she secured
a title and reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and Wimbledon
semifinals.
On the
other hand,
Linda Noskova created a major upset in the third round by eliminating the
world No. 1 Iga Swiatek with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. This marked Noskova's
successful debut in the main draw of the
Australian Open.
With the
score at 2-0 in favor of Noskova, Svitolina experienced physical problems. She was feeling discomfort in the lower part of her back, leading her to request a
medical timeout. Upon her return to the court, Svitolina displayed signs of
pain going through the motion of serving. After losing her service game, she decided to retire from the match due
to the injury.
Svitolina
left the court in tears, acknowledging the applause from the audience. As a
result, Noskova advances to her first Grand Slam quarterfinals, keeping her
championship aspirations alive. And let's not forget. Noskova just turned 19 years a few months ago.
Despite the
unfortunate end to Svitolina's campaign, her performance allowed her to
accumulate significant points, securing her place within the top 20 at the
conclusion of the Australian Open. Meanwhile, Noskova will face Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska who dispatched Victoria Azarenka in her R16.
The young
Czech player now has already secured a spot in the top 30 for the first time in her
career. Following the match, Noskova discussed her focus during the tournament
and revealed in the on-court interview that her favorite activity on non-match
days is... sleeping.
