Saturday’s top 5 tennis matches: Kalinskaya, Medvedev and Blinkova fight for the fourth round AO
Daniil Salnikov January 19, 2024, 18:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
What to expect on January 20 on the Melbourne courts.
See all events from January 20 at the Championship Match Center
The program in summary:
🎾 3:00*: Anna Kalinskaya (Russia) – Sloane Stephens (USA), Australian Open, third round 🎾 4:30*: Anna Blinkova (Russia) – Yasmine Paolini (Italy, 26), Australian Open , third round 🎾 5:30*: Jiongcheng Shan (China, World Cup) – Carlos Alcaraz (Spain, 2), Australian Open, third round 🎾 11:00*: Iga Swiatek (Poland, 1) – Linda Noskova (Czech Republic ), Australian Open, third round 🎾 11:00*: Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada, 27) – Daniil Medvedev (Russia, 3), Australian Open, third round
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The time on the material is indicated in Moscow.
🎾 3:00*: Anna Kalinskaya (Russia) – Sloane Stephens (USA), Australian Open, third round
*The match schedule may change and will be confirmed.
Intrigue: Will Anna Kalinskaya arrive for the second week of TBS for the first time?
Anna Kalinskaya managed to overcome the barrier of the first round of the Australian Open on her fifth attempt. But the 25-year-old Russian did not stop there and she took her second consecutive victory, thus setting a personal record on the TBS: reaching the third round. Whether Anna can now reach the second week of a Major for the first time depends on the outcome of her match with 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens, who just knocked Daria Kasatkina out of the draw. Anna and Sloane met twice before and exchanged victories. Kalinskaya stood out at the 2019 US Open, and Stevens in Guadalajara 2022. The winner of the new fight in the fourth round will fight one of the Anna Blinkova – Yasmine Paolini couple.
Anna performs the best TBS of her career:
“Kalinka-Malinka” is heard again from the stands. Another Russian is in the third round of the JSC
🎾 4:30*: Anna Blinkova (Russia) – Yasmine Paolini (Italy, 26), Australian Open, third round
*The match schedule may change and will be confirmed.
Intrigue: can Blinkova break her record on TBS?
Anna Blinkova reached the third round of the Australian Open for the first time in her career, repeating her TBS record previously shown at Roland Garros (2019, 2023 and Wimbledon 2023). Will Anna be able to make it to the second week of TBS for the first time? To do this she will have to face the Italian Yasmine Paolini on Saturday. The girls have met five times before and the score is 3-2 in favor of Anna. She was strongest at the ITF 100K tournament in Manchester 2017, at the Australian Open 2020 and in the Cluj-Napoca 2020 final, and Yasmine stood out in the WTA 125K challenges at Bol 2021 and Contrexville 2022. The winner of the new bout in the fourth round will face the pair Anna Kalinskaya – Sloane Stephens.
Anna endured a crazy marathon in the jump-off:
“I will remember this day for the rest of my life.” Blinkova pinned Rybakina for 10th match point in Melbourne
🎾 5:30*: Jiongcheng Shang (China, World Cup) – Carlos Alcaraz (Spain, 2), Australian Open, third round
*The match schedule may change and will be confirmed.
Intrigue: Will Alcaraz win his third Casco in the AO?
Two-time Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz continues his march towards his first AO title and the world number one title. But first we have to face 18-year-old Chinese up-and-comer Jiongcheng Shan in the third round. Until now the tennis players had not met on the court, and the future winner will play in the fourth round with one of the couple Tommy Paul – Miomir Kecmanovic.
Provisions for Alcaraz to become the first shovel in the world:
Who will get the title and leadership in the ranking? Ten reasons to watch the Australian Open 2024
🎾 11:00*: Iga Swiatek (Poland, 1) – Linda Noskova (Czech Republic), Australian Open, third round
*The match schedule may change and will be confirmed.
Intrigue: will the world’s first racket be able to cope with the young Czech talent?
World number one Iga Swiatek barely overcame the resistance of American Danielle Collins in the second round, winning the first set with a break from her opponent (1:3) and the third with two breaks (1:4). Now the Polish tennis player will play with the Czech tennis player Linda Noskova, 19 years old. The girls had already faced each other once: in the quarterfinals of Warsaw 2023, Swiatek was stronger. The winner of the new match will meet further down the grid in the fourth round with the pair Elina Svitolina and Victoria Golubic.
The ranks of TBS champions in the AO groups are melting, but Iga Swiatek is in the ranks:
Medvedev, Djokovic, Sabalenka: all TBS champions in Australian Open draws – 2024
🎾 11:00*: Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada, 27) – Daniil Medvedev (Russia, 3), Australian Open, third round
*The match schedule may change and will be confirmed.
Intrigue: how will Medvedev play with his “client”?
Daniil Medvedev reached the third round of AO-2024 with great difficulty, coming back from 0-2 in sets in the match against the Finnish Emil Ruusuvuori. This is the third time in the Russian’s career that he has managed to eliminate such a large gap and emerge victorious. One of the previous ones was with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the 2022 Australian Open. It is with him that Medvedev will play in the third round of the current draw. In total, the rivals had already played six times and in all cases Daniil was stronger. The winner of the new quarterfinal match will cross the bracket with one of the Grigor Dimitrov – Nuno Borges couple.
The match against Ruusuvuori in AO was memorable for Daniil:
Super comeback! Medvedev threw his racket as if he were bowling, came back from 0-2 down and won at 4 in the morning in AO.
