Australian Open 2024: Anna Blinkova upsets Elena Rybakina after longest-ever tie-breaker ends 22-20

Anna Blinkova said a lot of mental work and ‘courage’ enabled her to finally topple third seed Elena Rybakina after the longest tie-breaker in women’s grand slam history.

Russia’s Anna Blinkova celebrates a point in their round two singles match against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during the 2024 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 18, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. Picture: Getty

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. That’s how many match points Anna Blinkova needed to topple Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open’s most extraordinary match. Her 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (22-20) ...twenty-two twenty! ... victory finished with the longest tie-breaker in women’s grand slam history.

Anna Blinkova, left, greets Elena Rybakina, right, after victory in their women's singles match. Picture: AFP

“Before the match, I was telling myself that I’m going there to enjoy,” Blinkova said. “It was my dream to play on the Rod Laver Arena. I was preparing myself to only have positive emotions on the court, no matter how the match goes. I was telling myself that I only had to give my best until the very last moment and enjoy every single moment of it. Of course, it was difficult to always stay positive. I had a lot of great moments but I also had many frustrating moments. For example, all the match points that I couldn’t convert. I was doing a lot of mental work, a lot of self-talk to just stay positive, telling myself that I still can win the match until the very end. I was trying to have a plan for every point until the very, very end. This is what helps me to win.”

ANNA. BLINKOVA.

The moment Anna prevailed in a match etched into Grand Slam history.#AusOpen • #AO2024 • @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennispic.twitter.com/JTUTc9YR9p

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2024

She added: “I used to be a perfectionist. I used to never be happy with how I play. For example, if I win the point not in the way that I want, not with a beautiful shot, I was not happy with that. Any point that I win is a good point. Any shot that I put in the court is a good shot. That’s what I tell myself. I’ve been doing a lot of mental work to not panic, to stay calm, to breathe, to not be frustrated after mistakes. I always tell myself that everybody does mistakes, it’s normal. As soon as the intention is good, as soon as my intention is to put the ball in the court, that’s a good shot. I just have to keep doing it. I had a lot of motivation to win this match. One of my motivations was to simply stay here. I was telling myself that I will fight to stay here longer at the Australian Open in the best atmosphere in the world. This day I will remember for the rest of my life. This court, this crowd, I will never forget it. It’s the best day of my life so far.”

‘This day I will remember for the rest of my life’, said Blinkova after her victory finished with the longest tiebreaker in women’s grand slam history. Picture: AFP

The tension was extreme, electrifying. Twenty-two twenty! The umpire laughed when he called out the score. “I had negative thoughts coming to my head, especially when I could not convert my match points and I was match point down,” Blinkova said. “I had a lot of thoughts what if she serves well, what if she hits a big first serve, it’s going to be over. I tried to push these thoughts away. I was telling myself to cut the trajectory, accelerate the hand on the return. I was telling myself to stay solid all the time, just to keep running everywhere and putting all the balls in the court. When I had opportunities, when I had match points, I was rushing. My hand was shaking. I tried to be aggressive but I was making a lot of mistakes. Finally I was able to stay solid. In the last match point I converted, I was in defence. I think I hit two backhands very short, but very tough backhands. I’m super happy that I put them in the court. If I have to say one word on how I win, I would say ‘courage’. It took me a lot of courage. I heard that this is the longest tiebreak ever. It’s crazy. Endless tiebreaker.”