Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open 2024 after defeating two-time champion Victoria Azarenka on Monday, January 22.
After a relentless duel lasting 2 hours and 7 minutes, Yastremska claimed victory over Azarenka at the Rod Laver Arena. Despite being ranked 93rd in the world, the 23-year-old saved two set points in the opening set and made a comeback from a break in the second to secure a 7-6(6), 6-4 victory over Azarenka.
Yastremska was the top seed in qualifying at Melbourne Park, just missing out on a direct main draw spot. After overcoming challenging qualifying rounds, Yastremska entered the main draw in prime form.
She registered an impressive win against reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in Round 1, before beating Varvara Gracheva and Emma Navarro in the subsequent rounds.
Speaking after her win over Azarenka, Yastremska said she likes to play aggressively, while adding that Azaenka was moving well in their fourth round match.
“I like to play aggressive but I don’t like to make a lot of mistakes. Today I felt a bit tired. 2nd set When I was losing 3-0, my coaches were telling me ‘play in 2 shots.’ I’m like ‘how can I play in 2 shots?’ Vika’s running good. Then I just started BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. I don’t know how to explain it,” said Yastremska during the on-court interview.
Yastremska will now face Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova in the quarter-finals. This will be the first time the two will face each other in Grand Slams.
NOSKOVA ADVANCES TO QUARTER-FINALS
Czech teenage sensation Noskova achieved a milestone in her young career by reaching her first Grand Slam quarter-final. This achievement came following the retirement of the No.19 seed, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, after just three games in their Round of 16 match.
Svitolina had to retire early due to a back injury that forced her to take a medical timeout when she was trailing 2-0 in the initial set. But Noskova magnified the advantage, gaining a 3-0 lead before the match concluded prematurely.
Previously, the 19-year-old Czech player had caued a major upset by defeating World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the third round. The next challenge faces her is against the Ukrainian qualifier Yastremska in the quarter-finals.
