Thursday, January 29, 2026

AO26 - The Immovable Object and the Unstoppable Force Make a Date in Melbourne










=AO NOTES=
...while the women's final four didn't include the top four seeds in the draw (ala the men's), it did feature a group of players who'd yet to drop a set at this AO. It's the first time that's happened at a major since the 1995 Roland Garros (Graf, Sanchez, Martinez & Date), and just the second time since the 1980 U.S. Open (Evert, Mandlikova, Austin & Jaeger). It's the fifth time it's happened since the Open era began in 1968.

The opening semifinal of the night took things a step further, as it featured players -- #1 Aryna Sabalenka and #12 Elina Svitolina -- who not only hadn't lost a set in Melbourne, but hadn't yet lost a match in 2026. Sporting identical 10-0 match records, they'd won 40 of the 41 combined sets they'd played in the new season (w/ Svitolina's one set lost to Sonay Kartal in Auckland providing the only blemish).

While for Sabalenka this scene is by now "old hat," having won both two of the last three Australian Opens *and* two of the last three U.S. Opens, Svitolina's fourth appearance in a major SF saw her still seeking her maiden slam final. And despite her back-to-back Top 10 wins to get to this stage, facing the tour's best hard court player (Sabalenka) on her most effective surface was another order of business entirely.

Sabalenka held from love/40 in the opening game of the match, then three games later overcame the chair umpire needlessly inserting herself into the mix with a "hindrance" call on a post-swing Sabalenka grunt that wasn't significantly different from any other point, breaking Svitolina to go up 3-1.

Svitolina had a brief moment on which she could put some scoreboard pressure on Sabalenka, up 15/30 in game 5, but her hesitatation on a mid-court ball led to her forehand drop shot attempt being dumped into the net, precipitating another Sabalenka hold (for 4-1) soon afterward. From there forward, Sabalenka's game maintained a remarkably clean state as she barely missed and anticipated nearly everything save for a rare sneak-in forehand return winner from Svitolina on a second serve.

Svitolina saved a BP for a 4-2 hold, but then couldn't reach BP in a close game 7. Sabalenka held for 5-2 and then went up love/40 on return in game 8. On her third SP, the Belarusian fired off a crosscourt backhand, her 19th winner of the 1st set, to take it 6-2.



Despite a quick start by Svitolina in the 2nd, with a break and love hold (via a net cord) for a 2-0 lead, the set turned out to be more of the same from the 1st. Staring up at her opponent on the scoreboard for the first time, Sabalenka proceded to win 12 of the next 13 points, including a pair of love holds, to go up 3-2. Suddenly just trying to hold on, Svitolina reached GP in game 6, but unwisely got into a baseline rally with the big-hitting Sabalenka, a battle she was almost destined to lose, which she did as Sabalenka broke to assume the lead in the set at 4-2.

Down the final stretch, Svitolina's game was one that was both not enough (power) and too much (going for more because she had to, her error total went up). Saving a BP, Sabalenka held for 5-2, and then two games later confidently (without any of her usual wavering) served out the 6-2/6-3 win to reach her seventh straight hard court major final, and fourth in a row in Melbourne.



Afterward, in the post-match on-court interview, Jelena Dokic fulfilled what has almost become her recent AO role as Sabalenka's best publicity agent, providing the world #1 with yet another moment to show her humanity and fan-friendly side, both of which often get lost in the headlines amidst questionable (or hazy, at the very least) decisions in her career that have often left her with a "perception problem" when it comes to a large portion of the tennis-watching public.



In two nights time, Sabalenka will try to be a repeat AO champion for the second time in her career.

...in the night session closer on Laver, #5 Elena Rybakina and #6 Jessie Pegula faced off for the right to try and deny Sabalenka her fifth major title, with the Kazakh seeking her third slam final appearance (including the '23 AO, a loss to Sabalenka) and Pegula her second (w/ the '24 U.S. Open, also a loss to Sabalenka).

Even with Rybakina's sterling form since late last season, Pegula had been the most consistent and unbothered player in the draw through the QF, stringing together perhaps her best run of performances ever on the major stage. Additionally, she'd taken Rybakina to three sets during the Kazakh's run to the WTA Finals title in Riyadh. So she felt fairly good about her chances of derailing the Rybakina train in what was Pegula's third major SF since her thirtieth birthday, a unique feat when it comes to the first three such runs by a woman in the Open era.

Once the first ball was struck in the match though, no matter how untouchable Pegula had been through nearly two weeks in Melbourne, it was all about Rybakina.

Rybakina claimed the first six points of the match, setting the tone for a dominant opening stanza as Pegula rallied to just appear to be playing on the same court with the Kazakh. Down 3-0, the Bannerette finally got on the board with a hold of serve, and held from 15/40 down for 4-2 to keep within whistling distance on the scoreboard. But Rybakina's early advantage couldn't be overcome, as she served out a 6-3 1st set characterized by her crisp groundstrokes and big serve, finishing off what was her thirteenth straight hold in the tournament without facing a BP. She won 21 of 27 points on serve in the set (including 11/14 on her second serve).

Coming into the night, Rybakina had won 23 straight matches after claiming the opening set.



Pegula opened the 2nd by going up 40/love, and held at 15. But Rybakina was always lurking. At 30/30 in game 2, the Kazakh pulled out her serve (effective even without an ace to that point in the match) to get the hold, then a game later -- again at 30/30 -- a Pegula crosscourt volley was placed directly into the Rybakina backhand hitting zone and she rocketed a backhand down the line off Pegula's racket to reach BP. A return winner sealed the break for a 2-1 lead.

With another 30/30 score in game 4, after Rybakina had led 30/love, Pegula finally gained an edge with back-to-back Rybakina errors to get the break and get back on serve, but her feel-good moment didn't last long. Rybakina quickly took love/30 and 15/40 leads in the next game, and when Pegula sprayed a deep-landing ball at the baseline (nearly hitting the ball kid crouched beside the far net post), Rybakina re-assumed her break edge at 3-2.

The rest of the set saw Pegula hoping to find a way back in. She held in another 30/30 game for 4-3, but saw Rybakina stay ahead in the race, firing a GP ace (#4 on the day) for 5-3. With Rybakina edging close to victory, Pegula saved three MP in game 9 -- courtesy of multiple forehand errors from Rybakina -- to force the Kazakh to serve things out, hoping one final time for something to go her way. Remarkably, it did.

With an aggressive stance, Pegula quickly went up love/30 in game 10 with a return winner. Rybakina pulled back even with an ace, but consecutive forehand errors from the Kazakh broke her own serve, pulling Pegula back into the set at 5-all.

Again, though, Pegula's comeback vibes were short-lived, as a Rybakina net cord winner, then forehand blast, gave her double-break point in game 11. When a Pegula forehand sailed long, Rybakina had her break lead back at 6-5 and another chance to serve her way into the final. But, also again, Rybakina's forehand let her down in the pinch, as a series of errors on the stroke kept Pegula afloat, with the final one providing the break that sent things to a tie-break.

The TB didn't turn out to be a particularly well-played one, save for a strong finish, as its shifting momentum mostly came about due to which player would throw in an unforced error (or two) to turn an advantage into a disadvantage. Rybakina cracked the 20-UE barrier in the set with a backhand miss that gave Pegula an initial mini-break edge at 2-1, followed by consecutive Pegula errors that gave the lead back. Soon afterward, consecutive Rybakina errors knotted the score at 4-4.

Pegula reached SP at 6-5, but it would be the Kazakh who would find a way to a strong close. Rybakina clipped the baseline on the first of consecutive deep forehands to save the SP, then two points later saved a second. An ace gave Rybakina her fourth MP at 8-7, and a backhand winner down the line finally got the 6-3/7-6(7) victory in a match that suddenly became far more complicated than it needed to be in its final stretch.



The result prevents this AO from being the sixth consecutive major featuring a U.S. woman in the final, while it improves Rybakina's mark to 19-1 since October. Already with a win over #2 Iga Swiatek in this event, Rybakina is positioned to not only contend for a second career slam crown, but to also defeat both the top two ranked players in the world in the same event for the second time during this current stretch. She did it at the WTA Finals -- where she also defeated Pegula -- and is already the only player to pull off the feat twice (w/ '23 Indian Wells) this decade.

A year ago in this event, Madison Keys pulled off the same two-fer en route to the title.

So it'll be a second Sabalenka vs. Rybakina AO final in four years, one in which the world's two best hard courters face off in a parodoxical case of "an immovable object vs. an unstoppable force" in which both supposedly cannot exist simultaneously in the same place.

And for one night in Melbourne, by the end of the evening, that will ultimately be the case.



...elsewhere, the women's doubles final was set on Thursday, as #4 Elise Mertens/Zhang Shuai ended the comeback run of 41-year old Vera Zvonarva and partner Ena Shibahara, with the #7 seeded team of Anna Danilina/Aleksandra Krunic up next after a semifinal victory over #5 Gaby Dabrowski/Luisa Stefani.

The Bracelet -- yay! -- put away MP for herself and Danilina.



It'll be Danilina's third slam doubles final, and second at the AO (2022). She also won the '23 U.S. Open MX title. She and Krunic played in last year's Roland Garros final together.

Meanwhile, Mertens is already a two-time AO champ (2021 and '24) and a five-time major winner. This will be the second slam final as a pair for Mertens/Zhang (w/ a '22 Wimbledon loss), while the Chinese vet has previously claimed two major titles with Sam Stosur ('19 AO, '21 US).

...three Hordettes -- #13 Mariia Makarova, Ekaterina Tupitsyna and Rada Zolotareva -- lead the field in the girls' junior QF. The top seed remaining is #3 Ksenia Efremova from France, while China's #6-seeded Xinran Sun arrives sporting a combined 28-1 mark since October in junior and pro singles matches. The 15-year old ended '25 with a 10-match pro winning streak (while still 14), while she's 18-1 in junior play over the same stretch, most recently winning the Traralgon title just before the AO.

Joining them with be #8 Thea Frodin, as the Bannerette reaches her first career junior slam QF. She might be a familiar face to some, but maybe not from where one might expect... as she played the young Serena Williams in the 2021 film "King Richard."



...in wheelchair action, three of the top four women's seeds advanced to the semis, with the lone exception being an unseeded Diede de Groot, who's won the AO title the last four times she's been in the draw. De Groot knocked off #2 Aniek Van Koot.

De Groot will face #4 Wang Ziying, who defeated the former #1 in a 3rd set TB in the Victorian Open final earlier this month. #1 Yui Kamiji will face #3 Li Xiaohui.

The doubles final will feature top-seeded Li & Wang, the defending champions a year after becoming the first CHN wheelchair slam winners, vs. #2 Kamiji & Zhu Zhenzhen, with the latter winners advancing love & 3 over de Groot/Van Koot.

In junior rollers round robin play, #1 Luna Gryp defeated #2 Seira Matsuoka. Gryp defeated Matsuoka in the Junior Masters final in December, but since then had lost to her twice in both the Victorian Open and the Melbourne Open coming into this AO.






...THE RARE ONE OF THESE THAT DOESN'T MENTION SERENA on Day 12:



So...



...THE WRITING IS PROBABLY ON THE WALL (see you sometime this summer?), BUT HERE'S JANUARY'S PROGRESS REPORT on Day 12:




...LOOK WHO'S BACK *RIGHT NOW*... on Day 12:




...BOTH CAN BE RIGHT, YOU KNOW on Day 12:



The questioner wasn't incorrect in noting that Djokovic was "chasing" Federer and Nadal early in his career, and now near the end he's "chasing" Alcaraz and Sinner, as far as major titles are concerned. It's the natural arc of a long career, which Djokovic essentially noted in his later response.

That said, he has reason to respond a bit defensively, considering that what he's done *has* often been overlooked in favor of noting that Federer and Nadal "won hearts and minds" before he eventually surpassed them both on the court, and as a result his popularity will never be at either of their levels, as he's so often reminded no matter what the numbers say. By the end of his response, he'd given some context to his career and situation, the scope of which doesn't really line up with any other player in the history of the sport, save for maybe Martina Navratilova, who went from facing off with the likes of King, Court, Evert and Goolagong early on to eventually holding her own into her late 30s vs. Graf, Seles and Sabatini.



I *guess* the question could have included something about the long stretch "in the prime" of his career, so that his antennae wouldn't have so immediately gone up, but that wasn't really the point of a question about comparing the two similar, yet different, periods of his career.









=WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR vs. #5 Elena Rybakina/KAZ

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
#7 Danilina/Krunic (KAZ/SRB) vs. #4 Mertens/Zhang (BEL/CHN)

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
(WC) Gadecki/Peers (AUS/AUS) vs. (PR) Mladenovic/Guinard (FRA/FRA)

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES SF=
#1 Yui Kamiji/JPN vs. #3 Li Xiaohui/CHN
#4 Wang Ziying/CHN vs. Diede de Groot/NED

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL=
#1 Li/Wang (CHN/CHN) vs. #2 Kamiji/Zhu (JPN/CHN)

=GIRLS' SINGLES QF=
#13 Mariia Makarova/RUS vs. #8 Thea Frodin/USA
Ekaterina Tupitsyna/RUS vs. #6 Xinran Sun/CHN
#10 Kanon Sawashiro/JPN vs. #3 Ksenia Efremova/FRA
#11 Shao Yushan/CHN vs. Rada Zolotareva/RUS

=GIRLS' DOUBLES SF=
#1 A.Kovackova/J.Kovackova (CZE/CZE) vs. Makarova/Zolotareva (RUS/RUS)
Hermanova/Zoldakova (CZE/CZE) vs. Malova/Terentyeva (RUS/RUS)



















kosova-font













kosova-font

*AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINALS - ACTIVE*
4...ARYNA SABALENKA (2-1)
2...Naomi Osaka (2-0)
2...Victoria Azarenka (2-0)
2...ELENA RYBAKINA (0-1)
2...Venus Williams (0-2)
1...Sofia Kenin (1-0)
1...Madison Keys (1-0)
1...Danielle Collins (0-1)
1...Jennifer Brady (0-1)
1...Zheng Qinwen (0-1)
--
ALSO: Wozniacki (1-0)

*SLAM FINALS IN 2020s*
8 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR (4-3)
6 - Iga Swiatek, POL (6-0)
3 - Coco Gauff, USA (2-1)
3 - ELENA RYBAKINA, KAZ (1-1)
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (0-3)
2 - Ash Barty, AUS (2-0)
2 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2-0)
2 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (2-0)
2 - Sofia Kenin, USA (1-1)
2 - Amanda Anisimova, USA (0-2)
2 - Jasmine Paolini, ITA (0-2)
1 - Madison Keys, USA (1-0)
1 - Emma Raducanu, GBR (1-0)
1 - Marketa Vondrouosva, CZE (1-0)
1 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (0-1)
1 - Jennifer Brady, USA (0-1)
1 - Danielle Collins, USA (0-1)
1 - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (0-1)
1 - Karolina Muchova, CZE (0-1)
1 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (0-1)
1 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (0-1)
1 - Jessie Pegula, USA (0-1)
1 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (0-1)
1 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN (0-1)

*BACK-to-BACK US/AO TITLES OVER TWO SEASONS - Open era*
1969-70 Margaret Court, AUS
1970-71 Margaret Court, AUS
1988-89 Steffi Graf, FRG
1989-90 Steffi Graf, FRG
1991-92 Monica Seles, YUG
1992-93 Monica Seles, YUG
1993-94 Steffi Graf, GER
1997-98 Martina Hingis, SUI
2002-03 Serena Williams, USA
2003-04 Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL
2008-09 Serena Williams, USA
2010-11 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2014-15 Serena Williams, USA
2018-19 Naomi Osaka, JPN
--
1982 - Chris Evert, US Sept./AO Dec.
1983 - Martina Navratilova - US Sept/AO Dec.
2020-21 - Naomi Osaka - RG Oct.'20 held between '20 US/'21 AO
--
NOTE: Sabalenka won '25 U.S. Open

*SLAM FINALS BY NATION - 2020s*
11 - USA (4-7)
9 - BLR (4-4)*
6 - POL (6-0)
5 - CZE (3-2)
3 - KAZ (1-1)*
3 - TUN (0-3)
2 - AUS (2-0)
2 - JPN (2-0)
2 - ITA (0-2)
1 - GBR (1-0)
1 - CAN (0-1)
1 - CHN (0-1)
1 - ESP (0-1)
1 - RUS (0-1)
[AO 2020-26]
4 - BLR (2-1)*
4 - USA (2-2)
2 - KAZ (0-1)*
1 - AUS (1-0)
1 - JPN (1-0)
1 - CHN (0-1)
1 - ESP (0-1)

*DEFEATED #1 and #2-RANKED PLAYERS IN A SLAM*
1979 U.S. Open - Tracy Austin
1985 U.S. Open - Hana Mandlikova
1999 Roland Garros - Steffi Graf
1999 U.S. Open - Serena Williams
2000 Wimbledon - Venus Williams
2000 U.S. Open - Venus Williams
2001 Australian Open - Jennifer Capriati
2002 Roland Garros - Serena Williams
2003 Roland Garros - Justine Henin-Hardenne
2005 Australian Open - Serena Williams
2005 Wimbledon - Venus Williams
2006 U.S. Open - Maria Sharapova
2009 Roland Garros - Svetlana Kuznetsova
2025 Australian Open - Madison Keys
[in tour-level events, 2020-26]
2022 WTA: #7 Sabalenka (L) = #2 Jabeur, #1 Swiatek
2023 DUB: #30 Krejcikova = #2 Sabalenka, #1 Swiatek
2023 IW: #10 Rybakina = #1 Swiatek, #2 Sabalenka
2024 WTA: #3 Gauff = #2 Swiatek, #1 Sabalenka
2025 AO: #14 Keys = #2 Swiatek, #1 Sabalenka
2025 IW: #11 M.Andreeva = #2 Swiatek, #1 Sabalenka
2025 STUTT: #24 Ostapenko = #2 Swiatek, #1 Sabalenka
2025 WTAF: #6 Rybakina = #2 Swiatek, #1 Sabalenka

**AO "KIMIKO CUP FOR VETERAN ACHIEVEMENT" WINNERS**
2015 Venus Williams/USA & Martina Hingis/SUI
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
2017 Venus Williams/USA & Serena Williams/USA
2018 Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
2019 Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai, AUS/CHN
2020 Jordanne Whiley, GBR (WC)
2021 Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
2022 Alize Cornet/FRA & Kaia Kanepi/EST
2023 Sania Mirza, IND
2024 Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
2025 Madison Keys, USA
2026 Venus Williams, USA

*CAREER SLAM SF - active*
23 - Venus Williams, USA (16-7)
14 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (8-6)*
9 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (6-3)
9 - Iga Swiatek, POL (6-3)
7 - Madison Keys, USA (2-5)
5 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (4-1)
5 - Coco Gauff, USA (3-2)
4 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (3-1)*
4 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (2-2)
4 - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (2-2)
4 - Karolina Muchova, CZE (1-3)
4 - Elina Svitolina, UKR (0-4)*
3 - Amanda Anisimova, USA (2-1)
3 - Sara Errani, ITA (1-2)
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (3-0)
3 - Jessie Pegula, USA (1-2)*
3 - Sloane Stephens, USA (2-1)
-
ALSO: Wozniacki (3-4)
[SLAM SF 2020-26]
14 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (8-6)*
9 - Iga Swiatek, POL (6-3)
5 - Coco Gauff, USA (3-2)
4 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (3-1)*
4 - Karolina Muchova, CZE (1-3)
3 - Ash Barty, AUS (2-1)
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (3-0)
3 - Madison Keys, USA (1-2)
3 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (2-1)
3 - Jessie Pegula, USA (1-2)*





kosova-font


kosova-font

The people who think you need to be paid to protest government cruelty are really telling on themselves.

— Max Weiss (@maxthegirl.bsky.social) January 28, 2026 at 1:21 PM











TOP QUALIFIER: Guiomar Maristany/ESP
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #6 Jessie Pegula/USA (lost 5 games in 1r/2r)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #6 Jessie Pegula/USA (def. DC Keys and #4 Anisimova to reach first AO semi)
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2 - Guiomar Maristany/ESP def. Tatiana Prozorova/RUS 6-2/2-6/7-6(10-7) - saved four MP (at 6-5 in the 3rd), reached maiden slam MD
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Elsa Jacquemot/FRA def. #20 Marta Kostyuk/UKR 6-7(4)/7-6(4)/7-6(10-7) - 3:31; first three-TB women's match at AO; Jacquemot saves MP in 2nd set, wins 10-7 MTB in 3rd for first Top 20 win
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 3rd Rd. - #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. Anastasia Potapova/AUT 7-6(4)/7-6(7) - Sabalenka sweeps TB, wins in two after led 2nd 4-0 and failed to serve out match at 5-4, then fell behind 6-3 in TB and saved 4 SP
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/WC/Doub.): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: (WC) Talia Gibson/AUS (def. Anna Blinkova/RUS)
FIRST SEED OUT: #26 Dayana Yastremska, UKR (1r- lost to Gabriela Ruse/ROU)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Nikola Bartunkova/CZE (1st slam MD), Linda Klimovicova/POL (1st), Petra Marcinko/CRO (1st), Taylah Preston/AUS (3rd), Oksana Selekhmeteva/RUS (5th)
PROTECTED RANKING BEST: Karolina Pliskova/CZE (3rd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSER BEST: 0-1 in 1r
UPSET QUEENS: The Crush of Czechs
REVELATION LADIES: Australia (6 in 2r most since 1992)
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Russia (4-5 1st Rd.; only 9 in MD after AO-best 9 to 2r in '25; has lost 7 notable players to other nations since '23; lost 2 Top 20 seeds)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Maddison Inglis/AUS (4r)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Talia Gibson/AUS, Priscilla Hon/AUS and Taylah Preston/AUS (all 2nd Rd.)
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: Maddison Inglis (4th Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: Nominee: Jovic, Rybakina, (WC)
IT (Beloved Turk): Zeynep Sonmez/TUR
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Mladenovic, de Groot?
CRASH & BURN: #26 Dayana Yastremska/UKR and #20 Marta Kostyuk/UKR (first two seeds out lose in back-to-back ANZ Arena matches on Day 1
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF MELBOURNE: Maddison Inglis/AUS (saved 2 MP vs. Leyre Gormaz Romero in 3-hr. Q1 match, then won back-to-back 3-hr. matches in 1r/2r en route to maiden slam Round of 16)
KIMIKO VETERAN CUP: Venus Williams/USA (at 45 years and 7 months, breaks 2015 record of Kimiko Date as the oldest woman in an AO singles MD match)
LADY OF THE EVENING: Elina Svitolina/UKR
AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE ARTS AWARD: ["Show Pony Fashion Sense"] Naomi Osaka's jellyfish-inspired, "My Fair Lady" nighttime intro outfit
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Gadecki, Mladenovic; Danilina/Krunic
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x






All for now. More soon.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 8:20 AM 

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home