A couple of hopes: who of the Russian women can compete for the title at the Australian Open
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- A couple of hopes: who of the Russian women can compete for the title at the Australian Open
For the first time since 2016, four of our women reached the second week of a Grand Slam tournament. This is already a success, but appetite comes at mealtime, and tennis fans in Russia expected our girls to continue their winning ways at the Australian Open - 2025. It didn't work out. Veronika Kudermetova and Mirra Andreeva lost their fourth-round matches in two sets, and Daria Kasatkina lost to American Emma Navarro in a dramatic struggle of the deciding game. Only the most experienced of the Russians, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, went further, defeating Donna Vekic of Croatia. However, the Roland Garros finalist will face world number one Aryna Sobolenko next. Therefore, our main chances for the title are connected with the pair Andreeva/Schneider.
Doubles
Olympic silver medalists Mirra Andreeva and Diana Schneider have so far lived up to their fans' hopes for a successful performance in the doubles tournament of the Australian Open. In the second round, the young Russians scored an emotional victory over Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini. This success was revenge for the Olympic final, in which the Italians took Paris gold. Andreeva accomplished a small feat, entering the doubles match shortly after a rout of Aryna Sobolenko in singles.
"We were both very nervous, but we wanted to keep playing aggressively," Mirra noted after that game. - It was especially important for me to win here after a very tough morning and defeat. I'm happy that we did everything for this win. Now we are especially focused on doubles, as we are no longer fighting in singles. This is all we have left in this tournament, so the mood is appropriate.
In the 1/8 finals match our girls confidently dealt with Australia's Kimberly Birrell and Olivia Gadeki. Fears that the Melbourne Park crowd would put pressure on the Russians were not justified - there were few people in the stands of the secondary arena of the Australian Open and the atmosphere on the court looked quite friendly. As a result, Mirra and Diana realized their superiority in class and advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will meet with Russia's Kamila Rakhimova and Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo.
- There was no doubt in my mind that they had to beat Birrell and Gadeka," Andrei Olkhovsky, winner of two Grand Slam mixta tournaments and coach of the Russian national team, told Izvestia. - The girls are really playing well together and are among the favorites to win the tournament. At least if they win in Melbourne, it won't surprise anyone.
At the same time, we must remember that Andreeva and Schneider are primarily singles players, and doubles is an "extra load" for them. In doubles, our young stars were largely accidental after a series of rejections before the Olympics, but suddenly it went. Immediately after the Paris 2024 silver medal, the super duo failed to qualify for WTA tournaments, but earlier this year they took the title in Brisbane. Of course, the Russians do not yet have specific skills in doubles, but they have the spirit and great ambition. And at this tournament, they also have unspent energy, as both have already dropped out of the women's singles and can concentrate on doubles. After all, any TBS title is an honor.
Kasatkina's character
Unfortunately, Veronika Kudermetova failed to make it to the quarterfinals of the singles tournament, losing to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina. This was the first meeting of representatives of conflicting countries in the main set of the TBS this year. On this occasion, the spectators were warned that at the end of the match between the tennis players will not shake hands. Recall that Svitolina, one of the most politically active sportswomen of Ukraine, also refused to joint photos with Veronica, who was previously accused of cooperating with a sponsor who fell under Western sanctions.
Be that as it may, there was no fight in the fourth round match of the Australian Open. Svitolina reached the quarterfinals of a major in Melbourne for the third time in her career (so far this is the best achievement of the Ukrainian at this tournament). She will next face American Madison Keys, who had earlier defeated Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in three sets.
- It felt like Veronika lacked confidence," continued Andrei Olkhovsky. - She led 4-1 in the first set, but was unable to build on her success. Nevertheless, reaching the fourth round is not a bad result for Kudermetova. It's been a long time since she reached the second week of the TBS and she has played a decent number of matches. She lived up to my expectations.
Only Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will represent Russia in the women's singles quarterfinals, facing a tough test in the form of world number one Arina Sobolenko of Belarus.
- There are not many chances, considering Sobolenko's current form," Andrei Chesnokov, winner of seven ATP tournaments and Davis Cup finalist, told Izvestia. - Melbourne courts are ideal for Arina. However, Pavlyuchenkova shows very good tennis in Australia, has passed several strong opponents. Let's hope that she will be able to give a fight to the first seed.
Daria Kasatkina could be Pavlyuchenkova's opponent. In the first set of the fourth round against Emma Navarro, Daria nearly turned the tide of the game from 0:4, but in the second set she won three matchballs in the tenth game and eventually managed to level the score. Everything was decided in the third set, where Kasatkina led 3-2 and also managed to heroically win seven break points (4-4 in one of the longest games of the Australian Open). However, the American still had the upper hand in the end, advancing to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive Grand Slam tournament.
