Zheng and Pegula out, and Lucky Lys rolls on at Australian Open

Absolute scenes on Court 3 as @evalys_ reaches the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time!

She made the draw as a lucky loser, on Monday she'll face off with five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek for a spot in the quarters.

Only in tennis! pic.twitter.com/JtQqCZ7Q1o

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) January 18, 2025

I’m sure that few were expecting it, but the first big upset of the Australian Open was that of 5th seed (and last year’s runner-up), Zheng Qinwen, who lost in the second round to a very in-form Laura Siegemund, who gave the kind consistently disruptive performance that she has historically presented on clay courts. The glory wouldn’t last for the German player, who—in the next round—won only three games against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Also in the second round, qualifier Olga Danilovic upset 25th seed Liudmila Samsonova, then she proceeded to upset 7th seed Jessical Pegula in straight sets. Danilovic got our attention at the French Open, when she made it through three rounds of qualifying, then upset Martina Trevisan, Danielle Collins and Donna Vekic. She was stopped in the round of 16 by Marketa Vondrousova, but it was a great run.

The Australian Open’s breakout star is Eva Lys, who—after losing in the third round of qualifying—booked her flight home to Germany. But then Anna Kalinskaya withdrew from the tournament, and Lys became a lucky loser. But she’s more than lucky. After defeating qualifier Kimberly Birrell, Varvara Gracheva and Jaqueline Cristian, Lys became the first lucky loser in 37 years to reach the round of 16. She has since had to postpone another flight home as she prepares to play her next opponent—Iga Swiatek.

The ever-resilient Donna Vekic, seeded 18th, defeated 12th seed Diana Shnaider 7-6, 6-7, 7-5, in a highly entertaining and thrilling third round match that lasted two hours and 58 minutes. Last year, Vekic reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and also won an Olympic silver medal. The Croatian’s next opponent will be Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, another veteran who has had somewhat of a resurgence lately.

Also entertaining (as one would expect) was the third round match contested by Paula Badosa and Marta Kostyuk. Badosa won that one in three sets. Also in the third round, Emma Navarro defeated Ons Jabeur, and Elina Svitolina upset 4th seed Jasmine Paolini 2-6, 6-4, 6-0.

Two-time champion Naomi Osaka, who defeated Karolina Muchova in the second round, had to retire in her third round match against Belinda Bencic.

And speaking of Czech players—they are conspicuous by their absence. Petra Kvitova isn’t in Australia, of course, and Barbora Krejcikova’s back injury prevented her from entering the tournament. Marketa Vondrousova had to withdraw before the first round because of an injury that she sustained in Adelaide, Muchova was knocked out by Osaka, and Katerina Siniakova had the bad fortune of drawing Iga Swiatek in the first round. It just doesn’t feel like a major without Czechs.

As for top seed and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka—she was put to a tough test in the third round by Clara Tauson, and a tough test is usually what a champion needs as she goes forward to compete at the business end of the tournament.

Here is the singles round of 16 draw:

Aryna Sabalenka (1) v. Mirra Andreeva (14)
Donna Vekic (18) v. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (27)
Coco Gauff (3) v. Belinda Bencic
Paula Badosa (11) v. Olga Danilovic
Elena Rybakina (6) v. Madison Keys (19)
Veronika Kudermetova v. Elina Svitolina (28)
Emma Navarro (8) v. Daria Kasatkina (9)
Eva lys (LL) v. Iga Swiatek (2)