- Unseeded Blinkova wins thrilling match 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (20)
- Record, deciding tie-break finishes 22-20 in final set
Third seed Elena Rybakina’s bid to reach back-to-back Australian Open finals ended in disappointment as she crashed to a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (20) defeat against the unseeded Russian Anna Blinkova, featuring the longest women’s singles tie-break in grand slam history.
Rybakina, the big-hitting former Wimbledon champion,who lost to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s title clash, began the match sluggishly as her former doubles partner capitalised with an early break which proved enough for her to go on and wrap up the opening set.