Tennis
Anna Blinkova Defeats Elena Rybakina After Historic 42-Point Tie-Break
by privatebet.com - 2024/01/19
The Australian Open is in full swing, and the recent match between Anna Blinkova and Elena Rybakina was one for the history books. Blinkova defeated Rybakina on Thursday following an epic 42-point tie-break, which became the longest tie-break in Grand Slam singles history. The face-off between Blinkova and Rybakina was pretty tame in the first two sets, and they entered the third set with a pretty even result of 6-4 4-6. Things got wild from that point on, and the winner of the third set had to be determined with a tie-break. After 42 points, 14 combined match points, and 31 draining minutes, the tie-break finally came to an end, leaving Blinkova as the last one standing. The Russian player won the tiebreak 22–20, making it to the third round of the Australian Open for the first time. "This day I will remember for the rest of my life. There were moments I enjoyed - and other moments it was super tough. I had so many match points. I tried to be aggressive at these moments but my hands were shaking, and my legs too,” said Blinkova post-match. The previous record for the longest women’s tie-break was held by Lesia Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan with 38 points at last year’s Wimbledon. Andy Roddick and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga still hold the record for the longest men’s tie-break with 38 points at the 2007 Australian Open.