Daily Times

MELBOURNE: Top-ranked Iga Swiatek rallied from 4-1 down in the third set to escape with a narrow 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over 2022 runner-up Collins on Thursday and advance to the third round of the Australian Open.

Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz dropped a set for the first time in the tournament before recovering to beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the following match on Rod Laver Arena.

In a momentum-swinging opening match, Swiatek was on top after recovering an early break and leading by a set and a break before the American player rallied to take the second set and race to a 4-1 lead with two service breaks in the third.

Collins had three consecutive points to lead 5-2 but Swiatek absorbed the sustained pressure from her opponent´s powerful groundstrokes until she reversed the momentum on a match-winning five-game roll.

“Oh my God. I don´t even know,” Swiatek said of how she managed to come back. “Honestly, I was on the airport already. But I wanted to fight to the end.

“I´m really proud of myself, because it wasn´t easy.”

Swiatek had two match points at 15-40 in the last game but again Collins rallied, saving those and getting a game point with a trademark forehand winner deep to Swiatek´s backhand side.

But a forehand long and a backhand wide from Collins gave Swiatek a third match point and she made no mistake this time, flicking a backhand winner down the line to complete victory after 3 hours and 14 minutes.

Collins announced soon after that 2024 would be her last season on tour.

In one of the tournament’s toughest opening brackets, both players beat past Australian Open champions in the first round; Swiatek beat 2020 champion Sofia Kenin and Collins overcame 2016 winner Angelique Kerber.

While Swiatek was doing her on-court TV interview. Collins was already en route to a news conference on site at Melbourne Park, in a much faster exit than usual.

“Yeah, I lost 6-4 in the third to one of the best players in the world,” Collins said. “And she played some great tennis. (I) left it all on the court.”

A heavy rain shower at 3-3 in the opening set forced organizers to close the roof on Rod Laver, creating a 25-minute delay.

After winning three of the next four games to wrap up the first set, Swiatek was down 5-1 and 40-15 in the second. She saved five set points before Collins clinched it, forcing a deciding third set.

Swiatek, who lost to Collins in the semifinals here two years ago, was again down two service breaks and needed some help.

“She played just perfectly, but it would be hard for anybody to keep that level,” she said. “So I wanted to be ready when more mistakes are going to come from the other side. And I just wanted to push her and I did that at the end.”

The four-time major winner next faces No. 50-ranked Linda Noskova, who beat U.S. qualifier Kessler McCartney 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 in a match featuring two players on their Australian Open main draw debuts.

Fifth-ranked Jessica Pegula was beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Clara Burel. A quarterfinalist in each of the past three years. It was Pegula’s earliest Grand Slam exit since she lost in the second round at Wimbledon in 2021.

Sloane Stephens, the U.S. Open winner in 2017, took out No. 14 seed Daria Kasatkina 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

With a strong breeze to contend with, Alcaraz was tested by Lorenzo Sonego before coming through in four sets. “I think both of us played a high level,” Alcaraz said. “The match was a little tricky with the wind and sun, so it was tough to play our best. But even if I lost a set, we played a good match.”

Two of the early men´s matches went the distance before being decided in 10-point tiebreakers, with Olympic champion Alexander Zverev holding off Lukas Klein 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) in 4 1/2 hours and No. 11 Casper Ruud edging Max Purcell 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7).

“He played incredible. He was hitting every single ball as hard as he could from both sides,” Zverev said of Klein, a No. 163-ranked qualifier from Slovakia. “I didn´t really know what to do most of the times. To be honest, he probably deserved to win the match more than me today.”

Cameron Norrie, the No. 19 seed, also went five sets, coming from two sets down to beat Italian qualifier Giulio Zepperi 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 while Alex Michelsen defeated No. 32 Jiri Lehecka 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Last year’s runner-up Elena Rybakina was set to open the night session on Rod Laver, followed by two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev.