Australian Open tie-break record broken as Elena Rybakina exits tournament
A Grand Slam record was broken at the Australian Open yesterday, with Anna Blinkova beating third seed Elena Rybakina in the longest tie-break in history.
Rybakina had come from a break down in the deciding set on three occasions, saving two match points in the process, to force a match tie-break (first to 10 points).
At 9-7 down, the 2022 Wimbledon champion was forced to save two consecutive match points and continue the match further.
The tie-break continued to go back-and-forth, with Rybakina saving a total of 11 match points and Blinkova saving six, before the latter finally took her opportunity.
Blinkova beat Rybakina, 6-4 4-6 7-6 (22-20), with the tie-break itself lasting 31 minutes, which is longer than either of Aryna Sabalenka’s sets today.
This broke the record that was previously held by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Roddick at the 2007 Australian Open, alongside Lesia Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan at Wimbledon 2023, with those tie-breaks finishing 20-18.
As a result, world No.57 Blinkova is into the third round of the Melbourne major for the first time in her career after knocking out last year’s finalist.
The Russian described it as the best day of her life, “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.
“When I played at the French Open against Caroline [Garcia], the crowd was mostly against me, obviously. Today they were cheering me up so much. They were incredible. I loved it. My dream came true to play on Rod Laver, full of spectators. The energy was crazy.”
Blinkova revealed that she was having lots of negative thoughts after failing to convert her match point opportunities, but held her nerve in the end.
“When I had opportunities, when I had match points, I was rushing,” said Blinkova. “My hand was shaking. I tried to be aggressive, but I was making a lot of mistakes.”
The 25-year-old continued, “I had negative thoughts coming to my head, especially when I could not convert my match points and I was match point down on the return,” Blinkova said. “I had a lot of thoughts, what if she serves well, what if she hits big first serve, it’s going to be over.
“I tried to push these thoughts away. I was telling myself to cut the trajectory, accelerate the hand on the return. I was telling myself to stay solid all the time, just to keep running everywhere and putting all the balls in the court.”
The previous record was 38 points, which happened on two occasions:
2007 Australian Open, 1st set tiebreak, Tsonga d. Roddick 20-18 (Roddick lost the tiebreak but won the match)
2023 Wimbledon, final set tiebreak, Tsurenko d. Bogdan 20-18
— ITF Media (@ITFMedia) January 18, 2024
Blinkova will play 26th seed Jasmine Paolini tomorrow, with both players looking to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in their respective careers.
Inside the baseline…
The situation that unfolded yesterday evening in Melbourne was truly incredible, with a historic tie-break supported by an erupting crowd on Rod Laver Arena. After saving all those match points, many thought that Elena Rybakina would have gone onto to win the match, as she is renowned for her calm and collected demeanor. So, it just goes to show how well Anna Blinkova coped with the situation, as that will have been unlike anything she has ever been faced before.
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