Anna Blinkova knocked out third seed and last year’s finalist Elena Rybakina 6-4 4-6 7-6(20).
Blinkova produced a consistently aggressive performance which Rybakina had no answer for.
The Kazakh produced a slow start before mounting a comeback but Blinkova bounced straight back in the third set to convert her tenth match point and win a thrilling contest.
Blinkova will now play 26th seed Jasmine Paolini in the third round.
The world number 57 was aggressive from the start of the match as she secured the opening break in the third game.
It was a slow start from Rybakina, who quickly improved her level especially on serve as she applied the pressure with some sizzling forehands.
In the end the Kazakh didn’t do enough on return as Blinkova secured a 35 minute set by converting her second set point.
The second set saw Rybakina produce a much more consistent level as she took the match to Blinkova using a mixture of depth and angles.
However Rybakina’s lack of concentration cost her as the break in the third game was immediately cancelled out in the next game by Blinkova.
As the set went on, the tension increased as Blinkova started to think about the possibility of winning the match.
Eventually that possibility affected Blinkova on more than one occasion and the first time that happened was at the end of the second set, where Rybakina broke to secure the second set.
The final set was one of the most dramatic sets of tennis of the tournament as both players produced moments of sensational mixed with nervous shot-making.
Even the umpire was laughing at the ridiculousness as Blinkova had a break lead on three occasions but ultimately counted for nothing initially as a tiebreak would decide the winner of the match.
An insane tiebreak saw Blinkova win 22-20, saving five match and converting her tenth match point of the tournament to secure an incredible win.
After the match Blinkova admitted her hands and legs were shaking, “There were moments I enjoyed – and other moments. It was super tough. And I tried to today focus on every point. I had so many match points,” Blinkova said in her on-court interview.
“I tried to be aggressive at these moments but my hands were shaking, and my legs too. I tried to be calm as hard as I could. Super happy to win in the end.”
Next for Blinkova is Jasmine Paolini in the third round while Elena Rybakina has penny for her thoughts as she is eliminated from the tournament where she reached the final last year.
