After 22 minutes of the first set, Magdalena Fręch sat on her bench for a short break, losing 0:6. After another 22 minutes Shelf led 5-0 in the second game. How did she do it?
“Magda presses the gas pedal and immediately presses the brake. There can be no slowing down, there can be no holding the hand, there must be changes in rhythm,” the commentator analyzed game David Celt. The captain of the Polish national team in the Billie Jean King Cup really believed that Fręch was capable of making a comeback, which was objectively difficult to believe.
Blinkowa played like a top 10 player. But Fręch survived it!
Anna Blinkowa a year ago in the second round Australian Open She caused a sensation by winning against Yelena Rybakina. She defeated her much higher-seeded opponent in a style that was discussed by fans from all over the world. Then she sensationally eliminated one of the title candidates, Blinkowa, after an unforgettable, epic tie-break in the deciding set. The Russian won 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, and in the tie-break 22-20! Now, in the set won 6-0 against Fręch – also favored, but not as favored as Rybakina then – Blinkowa looked like a roller running over her opponent.
The Russian played brilliantly, constantly offensively, and at the same time so confidently (in the first set of the concert she made only four unforced errors), as if she were in the top 10 in the world ranking, and not in 73rd place. Seeded number 23 in the tournament, and listed in WTA ranking in place 26. Fręch scored only 10 points in the first set, and her opponent – 24.
“New set, new life” – said Celt despite everything. And he reminded that Magdalena had already lost the first sets badly, even to zero, and then won the matches. – There must be more aggression in Magda's game, but not at one point or two. Magda has to press her and chase her away – the coach argued. And suddenly Fręch started doing it from the beginning of the second set! Shelf she began to force that merciless roller on the other side of the net to move. And the effects came quickly.
In another very short set – this time 26 minutes long – Fręch won 27 points, and Blinkowa only 10. So Fręch's 6:0 was even more indisputable than Blinkowa's previous 6:0! After such a turn of events, the Russian went to the locker room for a long break. While she tried to calm down, the Polish woman waited very concentrated. And she reaped the fruits immediately after the match resumed. In the deciding set, Fręch immediately broke her opponent! And after another moment she added her service game and led 0:6, 6:0, 2:0. The Pole added another break to 0:6, 6:0, 4:1, and when she got to 0:6, 6:0, 5:1, we could really breathe.
After this brilliantly fought victory, Fręch is one step away from equaling his best result in a Grand Slam tournament in his career. It is the fourth round of last year's Australian Open.
Fręch is the terror of Russian women
– That tournament influenced me in such a way that I gained greater confidence in my game and greater confidence in my shots – Fręch said a few months ago in an interview with Sport.pl.
A year ago in Melbourne, Fręch reached the second week of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career. That fourth round remains her best achievement, but Magda's appetite is much greater. This hunger led her first to the top 50 in the world ranking, now to seeding in a Grand Slam tournament, and maybe – hopefully! – it doesn't end there.
Before Blinkowa, Fręch defeated another dangerous Russian, Polina Kudiermetova, in the ongoing Australian Open. Now Magda will face another Russian, even stronger than those she has already defeated.
In the third round, the Pole's opponent will be Mirra Andreeva (she won against Japanese Moyuke Uchijima 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 in a tie-break 10-8). Last year, the incredibly talented 17-year-old was, among others, semi-finalist of Roland Garros and won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Paris (in doubles). Fręch will certainly not be a favorite in the match against the 15th player in the WTA ranking. But Magda certainly showed with her attitude against Blinkowa and previously Kudiermietowa that she is capable of a lot. Maybe to equalize your result from the Australian Open 2024? Or maybe even more?