World number 87 Zhu Lin upset number 6 seed Maria Sakkari 7-6 (7-3) 1-6 6-4 in a late night match on Rod Laver Arena to set up a fourth-round match against 2012 and 2013 champion Victoria Azarenka, who beat Madison Keys 1-6 6-2 6-1. The match went past midnight and the Chinese New Year’s eve.
Zhu earned 15 break points and fired 29 winners to 38 unforced errors.
The first set started with three consecutive breaks, as Zhu took a 2-1 lead. Sakkari broke back in the 10th game to draw level to 5-5. Zhu took the first set 7-3 on the tie-break with three mini-breaks.
Sakkari bounced back by winning the second set 6-1 with four breaks of serve to force the match to third set.
Zhu earned an early break in the third set, but Sakkari pulled back on serve to draw level to 4-4, but Zhu earned her decisive break on her 15th and final opportunity of the match with a lob in the ninth game earning a chance to serve for the match.
“I just keep telling myself. It’s just one break and then I need to put more for serving and be aggressive, trust myself. That’s all I tell myself, and he relaxed. Enjoy the stadium, enjoy the crowd”, said Zhu.
Zhu has recorded the first win of her career against a top 10 player. The Chinese player will celebrate her 29th birthday on the women’s final day next Saturday. Zhu had never got beyond the second round at the Australian Open or at any other Grand Slam.
“Is this real ? Am I in a dream ? Words cannot describe how I feel right now. Thank you my team for pushing me every day to become a better player. I would not be here without guys. I also want to thank the fans for coming to support. It means a lot to me. Can I say a few words in Chinese ? It’s Chinese New Year’s Eve today”, said Zhu Lin.
Zhu took part in the WTA Rising Stars showcase at the 2015 WTA Finals in Singapore alongside Naomi Osaka, Ons Jabeur and Caroline Garcia, but she has sidelined by injuries in the transition to the main WTA Tour.
“There were a lot of ups and downs. Even sometimes I thought about maybe I was not good enough for tennis. I thought about retiring sometimes, but my family, my friends, they always talk to me. They believe I can be a better player, so they were pushing me every day to become a better person. So I am really appreciating”, said Zhu.
Sakkari was disappointed with her performance. The Greek player hit 42 winners to 52 unforced errors.
“I think my level was not level was not good at all. I started the match by being too defensive and not hitting the ball. Just being scared of playing my game. Zhu had nothing to lose. She was playing free. She was playing free, She was enjoying herself. She was playing very good. I have seen her on the tour. I have never seen her playing that well, to be honest. Beating Jill Teichmann in the round before, and I didn’t remember her moving so well as she did today. As I said, she was pretty pumped and motivated to have a good result. She has achieved it already by beating two very good players”, said Sakkari.