AO: American women surprise in stunning fashion to get to the fourth round

Madison Keys is back with vengeance at the Australian Open, Danielle Collins continues to astonish, while Anisimova becomes a star. Meanwhile, several former slam winners are all chasing Serena Williams, who is only chasing her own record.

17th seed Madison Keys employed an efficient game to dominate the 12th seed, Elise Mertens, in what was predicted to be a close match, breaking the Belgian in both sets and preventing her higher-ranked opponent from breaking back seven out of eight times, 6-2, 6-3. The American is into the second week in Melbourne for the fourth time. Not bad for her first tournament back since recovering from a knee injury last October.

“Everyone has had a couple of matches going in,” said the 2017 U.S. Open finalist in her on-court interview. “They’ve gotten to get that first-match-of-the-year nerves out already, and it’s not at a Grand Slam.”

Next up for the 23 year-old is World No. 6 Elina Svitolina, who came back from 3-0 to win her match against Zhang Shuai in three tough sets, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 and medical time-outs. She’s had a rougher time through the draw and is looking for a grand slam breakthrough after winning 13 WTA titles.

The surprise contenders

The Cinderella story of the tournament belongs to Amanda Anisimova, who is yet to drop a set at the slam, defeating first 24th seed Lesia Tsurenko in the second round—allowing her only two games (6-0, 6-2)—and now Shenzhen Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, 6-3, 6-2, in just over an hour. At age 17, she is not only the youngest left in the draw, she is the youngest female player in the Top 100! Just a year and a half ago, she won the Junior U.S. Open (2017) title.

“This is an amazing feeling,” said the American teen after her match, according to USA Today. “I can’t believe this is happening right now.”

Her run at the Australian Open has been a phenomenal story and has proven that she is a key member of the young NextGen American players who will be the ones to watch once the legends of the game get set to retire (Serena, Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic) in the coming years. Remember her name.

“I want to win this tournament right now, she said, after her spectacular match. “Honestly, I loved playing out there today. I think I have never had that much fun in a match before, and the crowd was just amazing, supporting me all the time.”

Florida native Danielle Collins has brought her A-game to the Australian Open, firing 26 winners—and only 11 unforced errors—to upset Top 20 player Caroline Garcia in two efficient sets, 6-3, 6-2, in about an hour on Friday. Collins’ run at the slam has been a surprising revelation considering that she went out in the first round of her two warm-up events prior to Melbourne.

Slam winners who could threaten Serena

Collins will have her work cut out for her when she faces last year’s Wimbledon champion, Angelique Kerber, who is on fire, coming off a successful run at the Hopman Cup, winning all her matches there, and dismissing wild card Kimberly Birrell while barely breaking a sweat, 6-1, 6-0. What better way to celebrate your 31st birthday than with a resounding victory?

The young sensation Anisimova will face veteran Petra Kvitova, who is still seeking another grand slam victory, despite garnering the most WTA singles titles last year. She is yet to drop a set in Melbourne, easing past Roger Federer’s Hopman Cup-winning partner, Belinda Bencic, 6-1, 6-4. A two-time Wimbledon winner, Kvitova has the worst grand slam winning percentage—70 percent—among those who have won two slams or more, according to Fivethirtyeight. The world No. 6 is still riding a positive streak since her comeback from a home-invasion knife attack. Every time she plays, she’s sure to have the crowd at her feet.

Halep facing the almost insurmountable

The 28 year-old already has two slams, something the current world No. 1 would love to get to. Simona Halep silenced many of critics by winning her maiden slam last year at Roland Garros after being a slamless No. 1 for so long. Having made four grand slam finals—including that sweet win at the French Open—she is seeking GS No. 2 to cement her place among the greats.

The Romanian defeated the older Williams sister, Venus, in the third round, in sufficient fashion, 6-2, 6-3, but must get through Serena, who has not only won at Melbourne seven times, but holds 23 grand slams overall.

“It’s going to be a bigger challenge but I’m ready to face it,” said Simona Halep, according to the BBC.

Only three women have beaten both sisters in the same grand slam, going back as far as 1998: Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, and Kim Clijsters. If Halep can accomplish the near-impossible, she would be only the fourth in over two decades.

“It’s going to be just a huge match for me,” Halep said, according to USA Today. “I will not put pressure on myself. There’s a good chance for me to play my best tennis and to feel good on court.

“She was (intimidating) when I was younger, but now I don’t feel intimidated any more. I have huge respect for her because she’s a great champion, but she’s just an opponent next round.”

Serena Williams the frontrunner

Serena Williams has sailed through her matches, with her opponents barely getting a game on the legendary player, continuing to build on her incredible run since coming back from giving birth and related health complications. The seven-time Aussie Open winner may have defeated Dayana Yastremska, 6-2, 6-1, but displayed such class, consoling the young player at the net.

The third round win was Serena’s 20th consecutive set win at Melbourne and her 84th match. An eighth grand slam title Down Under will tie her with Margaret Court’s 24, the most in both the Open and non-Open Era. Serena Williams currently owns the most in the Open Era, having beaten Steffi Graf with her 2017 Australian Open title. One more AO title will also make this tournament her most successful—she owns the same amount of silverware from both Australia and Wimbledon.

Fourth round matches continue on Sunday (which is about 12 hours ahead of EST in the U.S.).

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