An emotional Iga Swiatek survived a major scare to reach the third round of the Australian Open but Elena Rybakina was beaten by Anna Blinkova in a record-breaking encounter.
Swiatek lost to Danielle Collins in the semi-finals in Melbourne two years ago and it appeared history was about to repeat itself when the American took a 4-1 lead over the world number one in the deciding set under the roof on Rod Laver Arena.
But Swiatek responded with five games in a row to claim a 6-4 3-6 6-4 victory and set up a clash with Czech teenager Linda Noskova.
The Pole sobbed into her towel at the end of the match and she said with a relieved smile: “I was at the airport already.
“I wanted to fight until the end. She played perfectly so I knew it would be hard for anybody to maintain that level. I waited for the mistakes to come. I’m really proud of myself because it wasn’t easy.”
Rybakina, the third seed and last year’s beaten finalist, also appeared like she might escape after saving two match points to force a tie-break against 57th-ranked Blinkova.
But, more than half an hour later, Blinkova finally clinched a 6-4 4-6 7-6 (22/20) victory on her 10th match point, with Rybakina having seen six opportunities go begging.
It was the longest tie-break in a singles match in grand slam history.
For Blinkova, it is also the biggest win of her career, and she said: “I don’t know what to say. It was super tough. I just tried to stay focused on every point.
“I had so many match points. I tried to be aggressive at these moments but my hand was shaking and my legs too. I tried to be calm as hard as I could and I’m super happy to win in the end.
“This day I will remember for the rest of my life. Especially on this court, with this crowd. I will never forget it. It’s the best day of my life so far.”
After her defeat by Swiatek, Collins walked straight off court into the press room, where she revealed this will be her final season.
“I don’t really know exactly when (I will stop) but this will be my last season and I’m really looking forward to that,” said the 30-year-old, who also made the semi-finals in Melbourne in 2019 and reached a career-high ranking of seven.
“I have other things that I’d like to accomplish in my life outside of tennis and would like to be able to have the time to be able to do that. Obviously having kids is a big priority for me.”
Swiatek edged a tight first set disrupted by a brief rain break but the aggression of Collins was troubling the top seed and the American, who also made the semi-finals here in 2019, won five games in a row to take a 5-1 lead in the second set.
She showed nerves, hitting four double faults as she failed to serve it out at the first time of asking, but she was rock solid on her second opportunity.
Swiatek found returns drilled back at her feet and she was staring at the exit door when Collins broke serve twice in succession to lead 4-1 in the deciding set.
However, the American tightened up with the finish line in sight and Swiatek came roaring back, clinching victory on her third match point with a backhand into the corner.
Swiatek applied strapping under her left knee at the start of the third set, but she played down concerns, saying: “I’ve been struggling a little bit with my knee since (the WTA Finals in) Cancun. I have ups and downs but it’s not like it affects my game. You don’t have to be worried.”
On a day of high drama at Melbourne Park, fifth seed Jessica Pegula was also ousted, going down 6-4 6-2 to France’s Clara Burel, while former finalist Sloane Stephens beat 14th seed Daria Kasatkina 4-6 6-3 6-3.
WTA Finals: Swiatek suffers shock exit despite Kasatkina victory
Iga Swiatek suffered a shock exit at the WTA Finals despite her triumph over Daria Kasatkina in Riyadh on Thursday.
Swiatek swept aside Kasatkina 6-1 6-0, with the Russian a late replacement for Jessica Pegula who withdrew from the tournament due to a knee injury.
The Pole then had to rely on Coco Gauff beating Barbora Krejcikova to reach the final four, but the Wimbledon champion came through in straight sets to send Swiatek home.
Swiatek won 51 of 74 points and broke Kasatkina’s serve five of six times, ending the encounter in 51 minutes, which was her shortest match this year.
"It was a pretty solid game. It was a good performance," said Swiatek. "I was hitting the ball really well and picking the right shorts to play faster.
But it mattered little in the end, with Swiatek revealing she was unaware of the scenario surrounding her progression to the semi-finals.
“Honestly, I don’t think it matters. Like we go out on court to win every match anyway. I was not thinking about that. I did not know that was the case," she added.
“I’m professional enough to always give 100 percent, no matter what the stakes are."
Swiatek, though, became the third player in the 2000's to win 10 or more matches against top-10 opponents for three consecutive seasons, after Serena Williams (2012-2014) and Venus Williams (2000-2002).
But the day belonged to Krejcikova, who topped the Orange Group after extending her unbeaten run to two matches over Gauff.
The Czech emerged a 7-5 6-4 victor in just under two hours, saving 11 of the 12 break points she faced against the American to book her place in the semi-finals.
The world number 13 became the lowest-ranked player to make the semi-finals at the WTA Finals since Sandrine Testud (ranked 14th) in 2001.
"I think the calmness that I have in myself is key. I was ready to enjoy and excited. I had nothing to lose," Krejcikova said.
"I mean obviously it was difficult. I was just more strict with my game and that was the key today.
"It's very tough to say because before the tournament, I was dealing with some issues and didn't know what to expect.
"I tried to stay positive and knew I was going to fight to the end.
"I faced Zheng last year, she is playing great and had a great season and it is going to be really difficult but I have nothing to lose and I am just going to try and play my best tennis."
Krejcikova will now face Zheng Qinwen, who came second in the Purple Group, while Gauff will take on world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the other match.
WTA Finals: Zheng powers past Paolini to join Sabalenka in last four
Qinwen Zheng booked her place in the last four of the WTA Finals with a dominant 6-1 6-1 victory over Jasmine Paolini.
The Olympic gold medallist hit 12 aces as she powered past this season's French Open and Wimbledon finalist in just over an hour in Riyadh.
This was the winner-takes-all clash in Purple Group, with both players aiming to join world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals.
The form player since Wimbledon with 29 wins from 34 matches - also including titles in Palermo and Tokyo, plus a run to the final in Wuhan - Zheng quickly asserted her authority on proceedings.
The 22-year-old scored five breaks of serve on the way to becoming the youngest semi-finalist on her WTA Finals debut since Petra Kvitova in 2011.
"Finally, I showed off some tennis I really want to play," she said. "Of course, when you enter the match, you are nervous, but at the same time, you feel confidence because you know your level. And I know how capable I am.
"I remember in 2022, my serve was quite strong. I don't know why but, suddenly in 2023, my serve started to drop. In this tournament and the rest of this half-year, it is the first time I've felt like the serve is starting to come back."
Beating two top-10 players in the same tournament for the first time, Zheng is the first Chinese player to achieve the feat since Li Na (four) at this event 11 years ago.
The seventh seed also follows in the footsteps of Na and Kimiko Date in 1994 as one of three players representing an Asian country to reach the last four at the WTA Finals.
Sabalenka's place in the semi-finals was already secured, rendering her 6-4 3-6 6-1 defeat by Elena Rybakina academic, though ending a seven-match winning streak.
Having shared the two meetings this season in Brisbane and Madrid, the players took a close set each here, but it was one-way traffic in the decider.
In the final match of her first tournament since withdrawing from the US Open with a back injury, Rybakina did not face a single break point in the final set, while winning all 12 points on her first serve, to bow out with victory.
Though academic, it was an historic victory for the Kazahstani, who became the first player representing an Asian country to defeat the world number one at the WTA Finals.
Rybakina is also the fourth player to achieve six or more wins over the WTA's number one across a two-season span, after Tracy Austin (1979-80), Venus Williams (1999-00) and Lindsay Davenport (2000-01).
WTA Finals: Gauff ends Swiatek hoodoo to reach final four
Iga Swiatek's hopes of finishing as the year-end world number one were dashed after she fell to defeat against Coco Gauff at the WTA Finals on Tuesday.
Gauff earned her first triumph over Swiatek since the 2023 Cincinnati Open, emerging a 6-3 6-4 victor to reach the final four of the competition in Riyadh.
It means Aryna Sabalenka is now guaranteed to top the WTA rankings at the end of a calendar year for the first time in her career.
World number three Gauff finished the encounter with 10 winners to 33 unforced errors, 11 of which were double faults. Swiatek outpaced Gauff with 15 winners, but struck 47 unforced errors.
At the age of 20 years and 237 days old, Gauff is the youngest American to reach back-to-back semi-finals at the WTA Finals since Tracy Austin (1979 and 1980).
She is also the first player under the age of 21 to win both her first two round-robin matches at the year-end competition since Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova in 2007.
"It feels great and despite our head-to-head I was still confident and I knew if I could find my game, I knew I had the chance to close out the match," Gauff told Sky Sports Tennis.
"I was just trying to be resilient and play it deep. The conditions are tough and the altitude is tough.
"I was trying not to give her too many unforced errors. It's just a game of cat and mouse in these conditions."
In Tuesday's other match, Barbora Krejcikova ended Jessica Pegula's hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the tournament with a straight-sets triumph.
The Wimbledon champion needed just 69 minutes to secure a 6-3 6-3 victory, serving 11 aces throughout the contest compared to Pegula's one.
World number 13 Krejcikova became the lowest-ranked player to win a match at the WTA Finals since Magdalena Maleeva (ranked 17th) defeated Daniela Hantuchova in 2002.
The Czech will also have confidence of claiming the crown in Riyadh having won her previous events in Tallinn, Ostrava, Dubai and Wimbledon when beating an opponent in the WTA's top 10.
"I was fighting for every ball and I felt that I really have to play my best tennis," said Krejcikova, who picked up just her 20th match win of the season.
"I was trying to be really solid and trying to put as many balls to the other side as I could.
"I’m definitely proud. I had some very high parts of the season, especially winning Wimbledon. That’s something indescribable.
"And being here in the Finals is a huge privilege. It’s nice to get the win and still be part of the event."
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