Laura Siegemund, a 36-year-old German veteran, delivered a stunning upset by defeating fifth-seeded Zheng Qinwen in the second round of the Australian Open. Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka, the reigning champion, overcame a second-set challenge to continue her quest for a third consecutive Australian Open title.
Zheng Qinwen , the runner-up at last year's Australian Open , suffered a major upset in the second round at Melbourne Park, losing to unranked German veteran Laura Siegemund . The fifth-seeded Zheng entered the first major of 2025 in exceptional form. Beyond her impressive run to last year's Open final, Zheng achieved five more finals, secured gold at the Paris Olympics, and finished runner-up to Coco Gauff at the season-ending championship.
However, she was outplayed by the 36-year-old Siegemund, the oldest player remaining in the women's draw, who triumphed 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 in two hours and 16 minutes. Commentator Casey Dellacqua hailed it as one of the most exceptional performances from a 36-year-old in her long time watching and playing tennis. This marked Siegemund's first victory over a top-10 player since 2022. 'I knew I had to play more than my best tennis. I had nothing to lose, so I just told myself to swing freely,' Siegemund said in her on-court interview. '(Zheng) is an amazing player, just one of the best players right now. But I know that I can play well and I just wanted to show that to myself and make it a tough fight.'Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka, the world No.1 and the woman who defeated Zheng in last year's final, overcame a second-set scare to advance in her quest to become the first woman this century to win three consecutive Australian Open titles. Unseeded Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro led 5-2 in the second set, but Sabalenka, 26, rallied to win the last five games in a row, securing a 6-3 7-5 victory in one hour and 34 minutes. ' (Bouzas Maneiro) played incredible tennis today,' Sabalenka acknowledged. 'It was a really tough one, I expected this tennis from her.' Sabalenka's next challenge is a round-of-32 clash against another unseeded player, Denmark's Clara Tauson, who defeated German Tatjana Maria 6-2 6-2. Swiss star Martina Hingis achieved the feat of winning three successive Australian Open titles from 1997-1999. Seventh-seeded American Jessica Pegula finally triumphed over Elise Mertens, achieving her first victory in four attempts against the Belgian, winning 6-4 6-2. Mertens' best performance at a Grand Slam was her Australian Open debut in 2018, where she reached the semifinals before losing to Carolina Wozniacki. Pegula reached her first Grand Slam final at last year's US Open, but fell short against Sabalenka. Serbian player Olga Danilovic caused a minor upset, defeating Russian No.25 seed Liudmila Samsonova 6-1 6-2.
Australian Open Tennis Upset Laura Siegemund Zheng Qinwen Aryna Sabalenka Grand Slam
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