Australian Open
German Laura Siegemund celebrates surprise victory against Olympic star
Hardly anyone expected this: tennis player Laura Siegemund was thrown out of one of the tournament favorites at the Australian Open and is in the third round.
After her near-perfect match, Laura Siegemund fell backwards on the court and spread her arms blissfully. The German tennis player had just caused a sensation with a surprise coup against Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen at the Australian Open.
The 36-year-old won 7:6 (7:3), 6:3 against the world number five from China and reached the third round of the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne for the third time. There Siegemund will meet Anastasia Pavlyutschenkowa or Anastasia Potapova from Russia on Friday.
Australian Open: Laura Siegemund beats top five player
“I played incredibly today, I can’t take that away every day,” said the Swabian: “But on the other hand, that’s not luck either. There’s the will and belief behind it.” For her it was “one of the best victories of my career.”
According to data provider Opta, Siegemund is the first German tennis player since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to defeat a top-five player at the Australian Open.
For Tatjana Maria, however, it was the end of the line in the second round. The 37-year-old had to admit defeat to the favorite Dane Clara Tauson 2:6, 2:6. Maria is the first of four German players who started in the main field to be eliminated.
All in white? The fashion rebels of Wimbledon
Duel of the giants: In 1980, Björn Borg (l.) and John McEnroe met in the Wimbledon final. The game made history, as both athletes fought a thrilling tie-break duel in the fourth set, which ended 18:16 in the American’s favor, but ultimately could not prevent Borg from winning his fifth Wimbledon title. In one respect, the two rivals were just fashionable: both wore red jackets to the award ceremony. At that time, the tournament management seemed to be taking it easy. Today such a look would be unthinkable.
© Sven Simon / Imago Images
Laura Siegemund plays almost flawlessly
The world number 97. From the start, Siegemund acted at least on an equal footing with Zheng. She played very variably and courageously in the John Cain Arena and had a clear plan against the Chinese. “Laura plays fantastic tennis,” enthused former player Andrea Petkovic at Eurosport. “She plays an almost flawless match here.”
After Siegemund only weakened to win the set on her own serve in the first set, she found her rhythm again in the tiebreak and won it thanks to her more aggressive style of play.
In the second set, the doubles specialist took the first two service games from her opponent. On the second break, she also benefited from a penalty for Zheng for exceeding the time limit on serve. After 2:16 hours, the German converted her second match point – much to the delight of her friends and family members who traveled to Melbourne and were also in the arena.
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Source: Stern
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