16-year-old Mirra Andreeva has just pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament so far, demolishing sixth seed Ons Jabeur 6-0 6-2 in under an hour – before charming the Rod Laver Arena crowd with a delightful on-court interview.
Alex de Minaur is up now in his second-round match as he seeks ‘revenge for Australia’ against Italian Matteo Arnaldi, who handed Australia defeat in the Davis Cup Final last November. FOLLOW THAT MATCH HERE!
Tunisian star Ons, who was the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2022 and 2023 and at the US Open in 2022, was absolutely blown away in a disastrous second-round defeat.
The former world number two was broken three times and won just eight points in a 20-minute first set, fewer than her 10 unforced errors.
She held her first game of the second set – barely – but the meltdown continued as she crumbled to a 5-1 deficit.
Jabeur regathered her composure and held serve, but Andreeva survived some late nerves to serve out the momentous win.
Live updates below!
Andreeva burst onto the scene last year, reaching the third round at the French Open, the fourth round at Wimbledon, and the second round at the US Open.
Now, in her first senior appearance at the Australian Open (after finishing runner-up in the junior singles last year), the Russian teen is already making a statement.
Currently ranked 47th in the world, Andreeva beat American Bernarda Pera in straight sets in the first round before today’s win.
Told in her on-court interview she looked nerveless, Andreeva replied: “That’s not true! I was really nervous before the match because I’m really inspired by Ons, by the way she plays.
Before I started to play on the WTA tour I always watched her matches and I was always so inspired by the way she plays.
“Now I had the chance to play against her. Honestly in the first set I showed some amazing tennis. Honestly I didn’t expect that from myself.”
“I just wanted to play on this big court for the second time (after the girl’s final last year) and just enjoy tennis, just to enjoy the time… and I did.”
Asked if she felt her game had come along in leaps and bounds in the last year, she had the crowd in stitches again when she replied: “Uh, no. I just feel like I am a bit more mature than I was before.”
The interviewer couldn’t believe it, replying: “You’re only 16.”
But Andreeva had the answer covered, replying: “Last year I was 15!
“This year I think I changed a lot. I think you can see that on the court.”
In yet another charming move, she added a “yaaaaaaaaaay” as she signed the TV camera after her win.
She will face the winner of No.90 Kamilla Rakhimova and No. 72 Diane Parry.
SLAM DEBUTANT STUNS EX-WINNER
An hour after Mirra Andreeva delivered a dazzling performance to oust dual-Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur on Rod Laver Arena, her compatriot Maria Timofeeva delivered another showcourt stunner.
The 20-year-old qualifier showed significant grit from midway through the second set against comeback queen Caroline Wozniacki before running away with their John Cain Arena match.
Competing in her first grand slam, the right-hander claimed the biggest win of her career 1-6 6-4 6-1 in 2hr 21min, with her finish against the former world No. 1 particularly emphatic.
Timofeeva, who defeated Australians Astra Sharma and Priscilla Hon in the final two rounds of qualifying, was too strong for French veteran Alize Cornet in the opening round.
The 170th-ranked Russian competed with a flair that belied her current status, with aggression coming to the fore throughout the final two sets.
She ultimately struck 40 winners, more than double the amount of the Danish champion, in a high-risk approach which reaped a rich reward.
Wozniacki, who progressed to the second round when last year’s semi-finalist Magda Linette withdrew with a back injury midway through their match on Sunday, is in the infancy of her comeback.
The 2018 Australian Open champion performed well after returning in the North American hardcourt swing last August.
She managed to stretch eventual champion Coco Gauff in a high-quality fourth round encounter at the US Open. But she looked short of match fitness in the latter stages against Timofeeva as her younger rival seized control.
RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY
The clear run of weather in Melbourne unfortunately had to end at some stage.
The Australian Open confirmed there would be no action on any of the outside courts before 12.30 due to wet weather – and that was then extended to 2pm.
The city copped 19.2mm of rain to 11am in an overnight drenching.
It could lead to a major backlog of matches that need to be played, but luckily the forecast is better for the days ahead.
‘AND FOR WHAT’: CALL TO SHOW CONTROVERSIAL STAR BLASTED
Ukrainian tennis star Daria Kasatkina has blasted Australian Open broadcaster Channel 9’s decision to showcase Alexander Zverev’s match instead of a clash between two leading female players.
News emerged on Tuesday of Zverev being set a public trial date in relation to allegations he allegedly assaulted his former partner Brena Patea in 2020.
However, Channel 9 still decided to broadcast the World No. 6 on 9GEM, while a match between last year’s Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina and former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova was only available to watch on the network’s streaming platform 9NOW.
Aussie star Thanasi Kokkinakis’ five-round epic against Sebastian Ofner was on 9’s main channel.
Kasatkina took to social media to air her frustrations at Pliskova and Rybakina’s match being relegated to a streaming platform in place of Zverev’s contest against fellow German Dominik Koepfer.
‘LIKE WHO?’: Alexander Zverev fires back in heated presser amid uproar over assault claims
DEMON’S SNEAKY EDGE IN ‘REVENGE’ BID AFTER HUGE DRAW GIFT AS FIVE AUSSIES IN ACTION
Alex de Minaur leads the Aussie charge into the second round of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.
The world No.10 is seeking “revenge” against one of the men who knocked Australia out of the Davis Cup, Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi, in the second match of the day session – de Minaur’s preferred timeslot, but one he’ll rarely get to play in at his home slam this year, given his high ranking and the tournament’s interest in having him headline the primetime session.
But after No.6 seed Ons Jabeur’s clash with 16-year-old Russian prodigy Mirra Andreeva – tipped as one of the future superstars of the sport – de Minaur will enjoy the Rod Laver Arena spotlight.
Meanwhile Australia’s Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt doubled down on Demon’s claims he’s out for ‘revenge’ after Australia lost to Italy in November’s Davis Cup final – where Arnaldi beat Alexei Popyrin.
“We want revenge. I’m still having nightmares where Arnaldi won a cliffhanger against Alexei Popyrin,” Hewitt said on Wednesday.
“If we were somehow able to win that match we would have held up the Davis Cup trophy. That’s been tough. That will be in the back of Alex’s mind.”
“It was a tough pill to swallow. To come so close yet again two years in a row. I know how much it hurts the boys. That will drive them on to bigger and better things.”
From ‘little brat’ to a top ten player | 06:18
Should de Minaur win he’ll face the victor of Pavel Kotov’s clash with Flavio Cobolli, two little-known players who’d never before won a grand slam match, bidding for career-bests over on the ‘party court’ of Court 6.
He’s not the only Aussie in action though, with Jordan Thompson – fresh off his complaint that the tournament is too “woke”, because of new rules permitting fans to move between games – battling former finalist and perennial fan favourite Stefanos Tsitsipas on Show Court 1 in the night session.
Women’s doubles world No.1 Storm Hunter, after advancing into the second round of her home slam for the first time, battles Germany’s Laura Siegemund on the people’s court John Cain Arena in the afternoon, before compatriot Christopher O’Connell battles exciting American young gun No.16 Ben Shelton.
The reigning champions headline the night session on centre court, just as they did on the tournament’s opening day, with No.2 Aryna Sabalenka facing exciting Czech teen Brenda Fruhvirtova before No.1 Novak Djokovic battles powerful Aussie Alexei Popyrin.
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DAY 4 ORDER OF PLAY (Show courts & Aussies in action)
Day session from 12pm AEDT, night session from 7pm AEDT, unless listed
ROD LAVER ARENA
Day session
Mirra Andreeva (RUS) def. No.6 Ons Jabeur (TUN) 6-0 6-2
No.10 Alex de Minaur (AUS) vs Matteo Arnaldi (ITA)
Night session
Brenda Fruhvirtova (CZE) vs No.2 Aryna Sabalenka (BLR)
No.1 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Alexei Popyrin (AUS)
MARGARET COURT ARENA
Day session
No.4 Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs Jesper de Jong (NED)
Caroline Dolehide (USA) vs No.4 Coco Gauff (USA)
Night session
Jordan Thompson (AUS) vs No.7 Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE)
Maria Sakkari (GRE) vs Elina Svanesyan (RUS)
JOHN CAIN ARENA (from 11am AEDT)
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs Maria Timofeeva (RUS)
Not before 1pm: Laura Siegemund (GER) vs Storm Hunter (AUS)
Not before 3pm: Christopher O’Connell (AUS) vs No.16 Ben Shelton (USA)
Christopher Eubanks (USA) v No.5 Andrey Rublev (RUS)