Athletistic/Tennis. The first Grand Slam of the season is coming to an end. There were many exciting moments that kept people in suspense. The tournament ended with victories for Arina Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner.

The tournament was also remembered for many unexpected victories and real sensations that eliminated the favorites and progressed far into the Australian Open bracket.

The main sensations of the Australian Open 2024:

Linda Noskova

Noskova made her breakthrough last year, reaching two finals and winning three times against WTA top-10 players. This year she immediately showed herself at tournaments in Australia.

Noskova first reached the semi-finals of the Brisbane International, then put in a striking performance at the Australian Open. Competing for the first time in Melbourne, she beat 31st seed Marie Bouzkova before overtaking McCartney Kessler to reach the third round of the TBS for the first time.

Then Noskova met world number one Iga Svntek and made a brilliant comeback – 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Then her next opponent Elina Svitolina withdrew at the very beginning of the 1/8 final match and the Czech reached the quarterfinals, where she lost to Dayana Yastremska with a score of 6-3, 6-4.

Nuno Borges

Borges only entered the top 100 of the ATP rankings last year and has only made it past the first round of the TBS twice in his previous seven attempts. His best results have been second round appearances at the 2023 French Open and the 2022 US Open.

Borges wasn’t on the public radar until the Australian Open, but he made a splash in Melbourne by reaching the fourth round. His victory over Constant Lestienne in the first match surprised no one, but his victory over 23rd seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokin certainly caused a stir.

Borges then scored the biggest victory of his career, defeating world number 13 Grigor Dimitrov 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (6) in the third round. Daniil Medvedev ended his sensational performance, but even Borges took 1 set from Daniil.

Dayana Yastremskaya

Yastremskaya’s career, considered promising when she was a teenager, took a turn for the worse for many reasons, including a doping scandal. A few years ago she was ranked 21st, but before the Australian TBS she was ranked 93rd in the WTA rankings and was forced to compete in qualifying for the 2024 Australian Open.

Yastremska advanced and then stunned reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the first round, losing to her by just three games, 6-1, 6-2. She then defeated Varvara Gracheva and Emma Navarro and reached the fourth round.

Yastremskaya beat former world number one Victoria Azarenka in straight sets to reach her first TBS quarterfinal. She then defeated Linda Noskova to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final, where she was defeated by Zheng Qingwen. She has now jumped to 64 positions in the rankings and returned to the top 30 at 29th place.

Arthur Cazeau

Frequent injuries have prevented 21-year-old Cazeau from realizing his potential. He received a wild card to play at this year’s Australian Open and made the most of his chance.

Caso survived a five-set match against Laszlo Győre in the first round to earn his first TBS victory. In the next two rounds, he surprisingly beat 8th seed Holger Rune and 28th seed Tallon Griekspoor.

Only in the fourth round, Cazeau was stopped by Hubert Hurkacz, defeating the Frenchman with a score of 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3), 6-4.

Zheng Qingwen

Zheng is the most famous name on this list, having firmly established herself in the top 20 last year. She also reached the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open, but no one expected her to reach the final so quickly.

In the battle for the title, she met the current champion Sabalenka, but the Belarusian was too good for her and won the match with a score of 6-3, 6-2.

But this tournament clearly marks the beginning of Zheng’s rise. She is now in the top 10 of the WTA rankings and will be among the favorites in other lower status tournaments.

Vyacheslav Gorbachev/Athletistic


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