Tennis stars Anna Blinkova and Elena Rybakina made history on Thursday as they played out the longest ever tiebreak in women's Grand Slam history during their second-round match at the Australian Open 2024.
The unseeded Russian caused a major upset, securing a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 victory over the third-seeded Rybakina, clinching the tiebreak 22-20 in a match that extended well beyond 30 minutes in the final set.
Blinkova's 42-point match-tiebreak surpasses the previous women's record set by Lesia Tsurenko at Wimbledon last year.
It also exceeds the 38-point tiebreaks played by Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan at Wimbledon and by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Roddick at the 2007 Australian Open.
"This day I will remember for the rest of my life," Blinkova said. "Especially on this court, with this crowd. I will never forget it. It’s the best day of my life so far."
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Despite Rybakina missing eight match points, the enthralling encounter at Melbourne Park lasted two hours and 46 minutes, with the Kazakh, last year's runner-up, becoming the highest-seeded woman to exit the tournament so far.
Blinkova's victory is her career best by ranking and marks her second Top 5 win in the past 12 months, both achieved at Grand Slam events.
This is also Blinkova's career best by ranking and second Top 5 win in the past 12 months. Both came at the Grand Slams, after Blinkova defeated Caroline Garcia in three sets at Roland Garros last spring.
"When I played at the French Open against Caroline, the crowd was mostly against me, obviously," Blinkova said. "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."