MELBOURNE: French Open champion and world number four Barbora Krejcikova survived a scare in a gritty comeback win against Jelena Ostapenko Friday at the Australian Open (AO). The Czech fourth seed was one of the standout players of 2021, winning three titles as she soared 60 places up the rankings. It set up an attractive fourth-round clash with two-time AO champion Victoria Azarenka, who swept past Elina Svitolina for the loss of just two games. "Today's match was really tough, difficult, I had to really dig deep to get this win," said Krejcikova, who has won the last three AO mixed doubles titles. I felt I found the fighting spirit in me and was just going for every ball.

Source: Manila Times January 22, 2022 03:35 UTC