Swiatek’s loss is latest Aussie upset
Iga Swiatek’s No. 1 ranking, four Grand Slam titles and 18-match winning streak were no help against big-hitting teen Linda Noskova at the Australian Open.
After crouching at the baseline and covering her face when she closed out the 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 third-round victory over Swiatek on Saturday, the 50thranked Noskova said: “I didn’t really think that it would end up like this.”
Who possibly could have? Noskova, after all, is making her debut at the year’s first Grand Slam tournament and had only two match wins at all majors until a week ago.
Plus, it had been a quarter of a century since any teenager eliminated the WTA’s No. 1 player at Melbourne Park (Amelie Mauresmo defeated Lindsay Davenport in 1999).
Then again, pedigree and past performance seem to mean little to nothing so far this year, setting up a Week 2 that features a bunch of new players and storylines.
“For sure,” Swiatek said, “I wish I could have played a little bit better.”
That’s been a familiar refrain. Even before Swiatek’s exit, only 12 seeded women reached the third round, equaling last year’s French Open for the fewest at a Slam since the 32-seed format was introduced in 2001.
“We have, like, a deep pool of players who can beat anybody on the given day. I think that’s what makes them more dangerous,” said Victoria Azarenka, a two-time champion in Melbourne. “The consistency sometimes can be on and off. You don’t know which player you’re going to get on which day.”
The first three rounds were calmer for the men; Novak Djokovic led nine of the top 10 seeds safely through. (No. 8 Holger Rune lost to Arthur Cazaux, a 21year-old from France who is the first non-Australian men’s wild-card entry in 30 years to get to the fourth round.)
Of the eight women left in the top half of the bracket, only Azarenka has been to a major final, and no one is currently in the Top 10. No. 12 Zheng Qinwen, a 21year-old from China, is the highest seed there.
Swiatek exits Australian Open in a 3rd-round loss to Noskova
MELBOURNE, Australia – Already down a set and facing a break point against Iga Swiatek, No. 50-ranked Linda Noskova decided she had nothing to lose.
She won 11 of the next 12 points to take the second set and swing momentum in their third-round match Saturday, ultimately becoming the first teenager to beat a No. 1-ranked woman at the Australian Open since 1999.
With a big serve and equally big groundstrokes, she unsettled Swiatek and held her cool, even under pressure in the last game to serve it out, for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory that means there’s no top 10 players in the top half of the draw.
Swiatek is a four-time major winner but has never been past the semifinals at Melbourne Park. Even so, she was on an 18-match winning streak and expected to account for the 19-year-old Noskova, who is making her main draw debut at the
Aside from that pair, along with Noskova and three-time major semifinalist Elina Svitolina, others who can make the final are Jasmine Paolini, Dayana Yastremska, Anna Kalinskaya and Oceane Dodin – a quartet who were 2363 in Grand Slam action before this fortnight.
So what does it all mean? It’s hard to make sweeping conclusions based on early-for-them departures by Swiatek, No. 3 Elena Rybakina, No. 5 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 Ons Jabeur and No. 7 Marketa Vondrousova.
But it does offer a contrast to the sort of day-in, day-out excellence displayed by Serena Williams, for one, as she compiled 23 Slam singles titles and, even as the end of her career approached, run after run to the finals at the sport’s biggest tournament.
Swiatek beat 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round and had to rally from 4-1 down in the third to overcome 2022 finalist Danielle Collins in the second.
But after taking the first set against her Czech opponent, she struggled for rhythm.
Islanders fire Lambert as coach, replace him with Patrick Roy
The New York Islanders fired coach Lane Lambert and replaced him with Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy on Saturday.
President of hockey operations and general manager Lou Lamoriello announced the stunning move to dismiss Lambert and bring in Roy, who hasn’t coached in the NHL in nearly a decade.
The Islanders have lost four games in a row and six of seven to fall out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. tournaments.
And, in this post-Serena world, it offers fans a chance to learn unfamiliar names and appreciate unfamiliar games. They won’t all be future stars – and, likely, none will be – but it’s worth watching to find out.
Noskova is part of the seemingly never-ending reservoir of talent from the Czech Republic. Folks who follow tennis closely know she was the 2021 French Open junior champion. They might also remember she was half of the doubles team that beat Williams and her sister, Venus, in doubles at the 2022 U.S. Open, Serena’s last event.
But this? Swiatek was listed by FanDuel Sportsbook as a minus-1,700 favorite, then took the first set, but then couldn’t handle Noskova’s confidence
Lambert was midway through his second season on the job. Roy coached the Colorado Avalanche for three seasons from 2013-16 before abruptly resigning a month before training camp.
Roy, a four-time Stanley Cup champion who is third on the career NHL wins list among goalies, won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2013-14 after guiding the Avalanche to the playoffs. The 58-year-old has spent the past five seasons coaching and serving as GM for the junior Quebec Remparts.
Lambert, former Islanders coach Barry Trotz’s longtime right-hand man, got his first NHL head job when he was promoted from assistant in the summer of 2012. He was on Trotz’s staff when they won the Cup with Washington in 2018.
Titans interview Lions’ Glenn, their 9th coaching candidate
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Titans spoke to Detroit defensive coordinator and booming strokes down the stretch.
Noskova is in a wave of not-yet-20somethings making noise in Melbourne. Three 16-year-olds won firstround matches – the most at the Australian Open since 2005 – and one, Mirra Andreeva, was scheduled to play in the fourth round Sunday on the bottom half of the bracket.
That’s the portion that includes Coco Gauff, the 19-year-old American who won the U.S. Open in September, and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, the defending champ in Melbourne. They both reached the fourth round without dropping a set, so not every result has been a stunner.
Still, as Sabalenka cautioned: “Anything can happen.” Which is not necessarily a bad thing for those watching. Aaron Glenn on Friday night, making him the ninth candidate interviewed virtually in their search for a new coach.
The Titans announced they wrapped up their interview with Glenn after interviewing Philadelphia offensive coordinator Brian Johnson earlier Friday.
Glenn will be coaching with Detroit on Sunday in the NFC divisional round against Tampa Bay. He has been the Lions’ defensive coordinator since 2021 and was recently the top pick of an NFL Players Association survey of players as the league’s top coordinator.
He also has coached defensive backs in New Orleans and was assistant defensive backs coach in Cleveland. Glenn, a defensive back, was the 12th overall pick by the Jets in 1994 out of Texas A&M and played 15 seasons. He also played for Houston, Dallas, Jacksonville and the Saints and was named to three Pro Bowls.
– Wire reports