Symbolic errors of Świątek and Hurkacz. The fans in the stands were clutching their heads

In the fourth round of the Australian Open singles we had as many as three representatives: Iga Świątek, Hubert Hurkacz and Magda Linette. This is the third result in terms of representatives from all countries after the Americans and the Czech Republic in the men’s and women’s brackets counted together. This is also proof of the strength of Polish tennis. Recently, our mixed representation reached the semi-finals of the unofficial tennis world championships, losing in the USA in the United Cup.

Unfortunately, after Sunday’s Australian Open matches, only Magda Linette remained in the tournament. The second Polish tennis player in the WTA ranking will face Caroline Garcia on Monday around 3:00 am (Eurosport broadcast). Świątek and Hurkacz dropped out of the event just a few hours apart.

Swiatek had her chances

First, the leader of the ranking went to the main court named Roda Laver. Świątek was the favorite from the clash with Elena Rybakina, but on the other hand tennis experts were aware that a very demanding task awaited her. Rybakina is the champion of Wimbledon 2022. If she had received points for that success (she did not get due to the WTA decision after the exclusion of Russians and Belarusians from the tournament), she would be eighth in the world – not 25th as now.

Born in Moscow and representing Kazakhstan, the tennis player is famous for her strong serve, which she also used in the clash with the Polish woman. Our player had been working on the serve before, but unfortunately, in the key moments of the match, the serve did not help her. Świątek had her chances – in the first game of the meeting she was leading 40:0, but she was broken. Then she had two chances to quickly make up for losses, which she did not use. She took a 3-0 lead in the second set before losing the set 4-6.

Hubert Hurkacz may have an even greater sense of a missed opportunity. He competed in the fourth round with Sebastian Korda, not Daniil Medvedev. The Russian lost to the American in the third round and although he is not in the best shape, he has huge potential – he is a finalist of last year’s Australian Open, former leader of the ranking.

Too bad mistakes

For Korda, reaching the quarter-finals in Melbourne is the biggest success of his career. He was leading 2:1 in sets against Hurkacz, and the match was decided in the fifth set. In it, the Pole had his chances – it was 0:30 when the rival served at 5:5. Hurkacz also had two mini-breaks in the tie-break. Unfortunately, the opponent kept more nerves in the end.

It’s a pity, because the Polish tennis player was so high in the Australian Open for the first time in his career. Karen Khaczanow awaits Sebastian Korda in the quarterfinals. Both can realistically think about the Grand Slam semi-final, which will be their biggest success in their careers.

We will also remember the Sunday meetings of the best Polish tennis players when, having the ball in the air and the rival on the boards, they missed the opportunity. After their mistakes, the fans in the Rod Laver stands were clutching their heads.

Świątek spoiled the match at the beginning of the match, which would have given her a 1:1 balance. Hurkacz in the tie-break of the fifth game hit the drive grid for the exhibitor from the rival after his own great serve. These were painful mistakes, somewhat symbolic for the attitude of the Poles in the fourth round of the Australian Open.