Australian Open
German tennis player is only out – but then comes the surprise
Eva Lys was already sitting on her packed suitcases. Then the tennis player was allowed to play at the Australian Open – and took advantage of her chance.
Eva Lys dropped her racket and covered her face with her hands in disbelief. The tennis player, who slipped into the main draw at the last minute, had just experienced a little tennis fairytale at the Australian Open.
The 23-year-old moved into the second round of the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne for the first time with a 6:2, 6:2 win against Australian Kimberly Birrell, even though she almost felt like she was on the plane heading home.
“My flight was booked for tomorrow morning,” Lys said. “I found out five minutes before it started that I was going to play the match.”
Australian Open: Eva Lys replaces injured Russian
The Russian Anna Kalinskaja, seeded at number 13, pulled out of the tournament at short notice, so that the Hamburg native moved up as a so-called lucky loser. Lys took her chance in an impressive way. The Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva is waiting in the next round.
“I’m just happy,” said Lys, who played with a permanent smile: “I made mistakes, but I was still happy to be on the pitch. That was definitely the key.”
Angelique Kerber: the tennis star’s successes in pictures
Angelique Kerber was born in Bremen in 1988 and moved to Kiel with her family when she was eight months old. She held her first tennis racket in her hand when she was three years old. After she finished secondary school, she decided to use her talent in tennis professionally. Her mother Beata took the manager position of her budding career, while her father Sławek led her first training.
© picture alliance / empics | Steven Paston
Cheeky appearance from Hamburg
Lys played cheekily and powerfully against the Australian local hero in the Kia Arena, one of the four large arenas in Melbourne Park. The world ranking 128. took advantage of Birrell’s uncertainty, who had prepared for a game as an underdog against Kalinskaja. “She’s really nervous, I would be that nervous if I were her,” said Lys while walking to the towel.
Lys won the first set with four breaks, and even a toilet break didn’t bring Birrell the focus he had hoped for. Lys continued to act bravely and won the match after just 70 minutes. On the sidelines, national coach Torben Beltz was also amazed at the fantastic performance.
Lys actually narrowly missed out on making it into the main draw in the last qualifying round due to a three-set defeat against the Australian Destanee Aiava.
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Source: Stern

I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.