Aryna Sabalenka Disappointed in a Hard-Fought Battle Against Kaia Kanepi at Australian Open Round 4 Following 15 Double Faults

The second seed Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Kaia Kanepi, who is having a dream run at the Australian Open 2022. She lost in her fourth-round match 7-5, 2-6, 6(7)-7(10).

Never count @KanepiKaia out

At 36 years of age, world No.115 upsets world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka 5-7 6-2 7-6[7] to reach the #AusOpen quarterfinals for the very first time.#AO2022 pic.twitter.com/358aIfkf1R

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2022

Aryna Sabalenka plays error-strewn match

The number 2. seed Aryna Sabalenka could not survive the groundstrokes and the strong serves that Kanepi sent her way during their fourth-round clash. Sabalenka took the opening set, but the Estonian fought back to win the next set 6-2. Aryna’s serve seemed to desert her into the second set.

Tennis – WTA Tour Finals – Centro Panamericano de Tenis, Guadalajara, Mexico – November 11, 2021 Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka reacts during her group stage match against Spain’s Paula Badosa REUTERS/Henry Romero

She also made 14 double faults, amongst which three came in a single game in the third set. But she managed to save 4 match points in the next game to deny Kanepi the match. She broke and then held her serve to take the match to a 10-point tiebreaker. Aryna seemed to waver on intensity, sometimes producing excellent shot-making and sometimes faltering on serve.

Kaia Kanepi continues the victory march.

Kanepi who thought she had won the match after winning the 9th point of the 10-point tiebreaker, followed premature victory fist-pump, by quickly winning the next point. She now faces Poland’s Iga Swiatek in the Quarterfinals.

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Kanepi kept fighting off Sabalenka’s attacks, and finally grabbed the second opportunity she got at match point. This makes the Kanep, ranked 115 in the world, the oldest member on tour to be in this year’s Australian Open quarterfinals.

Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 24, 2022 Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi celebrates winning her fourth round match against Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake

Both heavy hitters, Kanepi did not really think that she will get this far into the tournament. This is the first time she plays the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park. Throughout her career, she has made it into the quarterfinals of the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

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