Qualifier Dayana Yastremska reaches maiden Australian Open quarter-final

Published at :January 25, 2024 at 5:44 PM

Modified at :January 25, 2024 at 5:44 PM

(Courtesy : Eurosport)

Her win over Victoria Azarenka was the second time she defeated a former Grand Slam winner in the tournament.

Dayana Yastremska went past a personal milestone when she upset two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in straight sets 7-6(6), 6-4. In doing so, Yastremska booked a quarter-final berth at the Australian Open 2024. This is also her best Grand Slam result to date.

The 23-year-old Yastremska was on the verge of losing the first set but fought off two set points and came back from a break down in the second set, reeling off five games in a row for a 2-hour and 7-minute victory over former World No.1 Azarenka on Rod Laver Arena. The Ukrainian qualifier dominated the proceedings, hitting 38 winners to Azarenka’s 16 and won 12/13 (92%) of her net points.

2 – Dayana Yastremska is the second qualifier in the Open Era to defeat two former Grand Slam champions in a Women’s Singles Major event after Jelena Dokic in Wimbledon 1999 (vs Martina Hingis and Mary Pierce). Enlightening.#ausopen | @AustralianOpen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/5jwD6bYwWn
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 22, 2024

Earlier in the first round, Yastremska moved past reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-1, 6-2 in a one-sided match. The World No. 93 sent down 26 winners to 5 by her Czech rival while converting five of ten break points.

The Ukrainian is the second qualifier in the Open Era to defeat two former Grand Slam title holders in a women’s singles major event. Jelena Dokic is the other, defeating Martina Hingis and Mary Pierce at Wimbledon in 1999. She is a mere two wins away from emulating Emma Raducanu and winning a Grand Slam unseeded.

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Emma Raducanu won the 2021 US Open women’s singles title and is the first player, male or female, to do so as a qualifier. Raducanu, who was 18, took out the Canadian Leylah Fernandez in straight sets 6-4 6-3.

Dayana Yastremska’s reward for her gritty performance is a clash with unseeded teenager and another first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic. World No.50 Noskova advanced to her maiden major quarter-final after an injured Elina Svitolina pulled out from their match with only three games being played.

As both players are in the top half of the draw with all the top seeds absent, the chances of a spot in the final are an all too real and tantalizing possibility.

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