There have been a lot of upsets at the 2024 Australian Open after the first week, but none of them were bigger than the upset we saw on Saturday as Linda Noskova, the 50th ranked player in the world, knocked out the world number one Iga Swiatek of Poland, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the third round at Rod Laver Arena.
Swiatek is a three-time major champion as she won the 2020 French Open, 2022 French Open and 2022 United States Open champion. She also regained her number one world ranking in women’s tennis by winning the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico. Heading into the match, Swiatek was the heavy favourite at -1000, compared to +900 for Noskova.
This was their second meeting head-to-head. In their first meeting, Swiatek beat Noskova quite easily 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Poland Open.
The fact that Swiatek beat Noskova was also stunning when you considered the fact that Swiatek beat two formidable opponents in the first two rounds. She defeated 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin of the United States in the first round 7-6, 6-2, and 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round.
Swiatek is the second seeded player Noskova has beaten in the Australian Open so far. She beat fellow Czech player and the 31st seed, Marie Bouzkova 6-1, 7-5 in the first round. Next up for Noskova in the fourth round on Sunday, is the 19th seed, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, the three-time grand slam semifinalist (2019 Wimbledon, 2019 United States Open, and 2023 Wimbledon). This will be their first ever meeting head-to-head. It should be noted that even though Noskova is unseeded, she did reach the semifinals in Brisbane earlier this month.
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