For the 21st time in 28 main draws and the sixth time in eight Australian Open appearances, Swiatek made it to the second week of a major. She will next take on Madison Inglis, the final qualifier and last chance at home. The World No. 168 advanced by walkover following Naomi Osaka, who had to save two match points against Leyre Romero Gormaz in her first qualifying round.
withdrawn because of an injury to the left abdomen.
Swiatek will play an Australian player at the Australian Open for the first time. However, she has previously played Inglis at home, winning 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the 2021 Adelaide tournament to win her first hard-court championship.
Swings and roundabouts: Throughout the match, Swiatek and Kalinskaya’s momentum fluctuated greatly, and the player who grabbed it first in each set won handily. A blink-and-miss-it 24-minute set versus Swiatek began when Kalinskaya dropped her opening service game from game point up with a string of backhand errors. In comparison, Swiatek was nearly faultless on serve in the first set, winning 17 of 20 points behind her delivery.
In the second set, Kalinskaya started hitting the ball more freely and accurately after undergoing back therapy during a medical break in between sets. She scored ten points in the second set after finding only three winners in the first. Swiatek had previously broken back once and had three points to do so again, but Kalinskaya saved all three with unreturned serves, making her hold for 4-1 the crucial game.
In the third set, Swiatek, who had made a number of reckless, unintentional mistakes in the second, recovered her intensity. She jumped out to a 5-0 lead without facing a match point, and even though Kalinskaya forced her to play a four-deuce final game, Swiatek converted her second match point with a forehand winner on the line.
Swiatek unsurprised by Kalinskaya test: Kalinskaya represented a quietly dangerous test for Swiatek. Her flat, aggressive game style had already garnered her one win over Swiatek, in the 2024 Dubai semifinals, and she pushed Swiatek hard in a 7-6(2), 6-4 loss in last year’s US Open third round. Moreover, Kalinskaya had played her part in two of the best matches of this year’s Australian Open warmups, stretching Jessica Pegula
and Victoria Mboko
to tight three-setters in Brisbane and Adelaide respectively.
“It’s not surprising for me because I know that Anna can play amazing tennis,” Swiatek said of the unusual scoreline. “And on the other hand she’s risking a lot, so at the same time she might start playing out. I just wanted to be there when I have a chance, when I have a slower ball, to still be proactive and put pressure on her. I didn’t feel I was playing worse in the second set, I felt like she just started playing in all the balls that went out in the first.”
