0: 6, 0: 4, five balls from a colossal disgrace. The tennis comeback of the year took place in Ostrava

Sara Sorribes Torm (left) from Spain probably had something to think about after the end of the match. Aryna Sabalenková from Belarus showed an incredible turnaround.

Jaroslav Ožana, ČTK

Critics of women’s tennis probably got more bullets. Sabalenkova lost the first ten games of the match to win the next 12 …

“Actually, it was already 0:10,” the 22-year-old Belarusian shook her head. “I wanted to win at least one game, to lose twice 0: 6, that would be very crazy and a little too much.”

From the beginning, however, she did not fight at all against the strongly and accurately playing opponent, who is in the 73rd place of the WTA. It visibly worked in the second set, but only the Sorribes still jumped. With two brutal forehands in the fifth game, Sabalenková arranged number one on the light board. She raised her hands above her head and smiled like after a match … At that moment, no one could have guessed that she would not cross the Spaniard by the end of the match.

Aryna Sabalenkova of Belarus in a match against Sara Sorribesova Tormova of Spain.

Jaroslav Ožana, ČTK

“I was completely out of it from the beginning and I don’t know why. But suddenly there was a turning point, I calmed down, went step by step and also started to play more over her backhand, “said Sabalenková, who has already made a comeback in Ostrava: in the second round against 16-year-old American Gauff. yet she won her 7: 6 in a tie break.

41 of the 47 winning strokes were shown on Friday by the winner of the second set, Sorribes made only one unforced mistake in the opening one … As if two matches had taken place in one.

“As soon as I won three games in a row, I found my game,” said Belarus, who will face American Brady in today’s semifinals.

History already remembers similar twists

In the world of women’s tennis, however, similar turns (collapses) are not such a rarity. Eight years ago, Petra Cetkovská lost the first ten games of the tournament in Miami, and yet she defeated the American McHale 0: 6, 7: 5, 6: 1.

“The score looked worse than my game, but the riskier tennis helped me,” said Cetkovská.

Six years ago, Olga Savčuková, a Ukrainian from the coaching team of Karolína Plíšková, turned over a duel with Ruska Pěrvaková in Baku from 0: 6, 0: 4 and 15:40.

Jana Novotná again led in the match of the 3rd round of the French Open 1995 over the American Rubinová in the third set 5: 0 and 40: 0. She had 9 matchballs, but lost 6: 8 …

Ostrava thus got on the list of places where tennis ‘miracles’ take place.