Nikola Bartunkova, a 19-year-old Czech qualifier playing in her first ever Grand Slam, doled out the first Top 10 upset of the Australian Open late on Thirsday evening. The teenager snapped the in-form No. 10 seed Belinda Bencic’s 12-match winning streak 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 with a dazzling array of shot-making.
Australian Open: Scores | Draws | Order of play
“It’s a dream come true, because it was an unbelievable match from me,” Bartunkova said afterwards.
The gulf in experience was a substantial one. Former Olympic gold medallist and two-time major semifinalist Bencic, 27, had not lost a match since last October. At the United Cup two weeks ago, her form as she went unbeaten in singles was so flawless that her Swiss teammate Stan Wawrinka declared that we are all “living in Belinda’s world.” Meanwhile, over in the Canberra WTA 125 event, Bartunkova was mustering just three games in a tame 6-1, 6-2 first-round exit to Tatiana Prozorova.
A former Top 10 junior who has risen from No. 537 to No. 126 over the past 12 months, Bartunkova had not even played a Grand Slam qualifying event before last week, and Bencic was the first Top 20 opponent she had ever faced. But her 7-6(7), 0-6, 6-3 first-round upset of Daria Kasatkina had been a statement win against both a former Top 10 player and her home crowd — and over the course of a 2-hour, 12-minute battle on ANZ Arena, Bartunkova showed it was no one-off.
“My tennis is unpredictable,” Bartunkova told iSport.cz last year after reaching her first WTA semifinal in Guadalajara. “I hit something different each time so rivals don’t know what ball is coming.”
That was something Bencic swiftly learned. Bartunkova possesses every shot in the book — and many more besides — and left them all on the court as she made a strong case for herself as the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz’s newest walking highlight reel. She landed 40 clean winners, and they ranged from flat, high-risk crowd-pleasers down the lines to delicate drop shots. She rushed the net 26 times, and won 17 of those points as she showed off her phenomenal reflexes.
“Federer style, Alcaraz style,” Bartunkova said when asked about the variety she brought to the court. “All the more aggressive players — that’s my inspiration since I was a kid. “I like playing the volleys, the drop shots, everything, because I know that opponents don’t like it much. So that’s why I play it!”
Even more impressively, Bartunkova was able to find her hottest shots on pressure points. Rat-a-tat volleying earned her a break for 4-2 in the first set, and a brilliant backhand down the line brought up her first set point. Facing two break points as she served down 3-2 in the third set, she found a service winner and then a remarkable forehand down the line from seemingly out of position. Having held for 3-3, she brought up break point by ensnaring Bencic in a web of slices — and converted it with a SABR-style net-rush off the return worthy of Federer.
Flair often counts for little without grit, but in the home stretch Bartunkova demonstrated impressive resilience as well. Bencic broke back for 4-4, but Bartunkova raised her level again with two clean return winners and a breathtaking backhand down the line. Serving for the match, she had the presence of mind to throw in a clever drop shot-pass combination.
Bartunkova will next face No. 21 seed Elise Mertens, who defeated Moyuka Uchijima 6-3, 6-1, as she bids to keep her dream debut alive.
Valentova wins all-Czech derby; to face rematch with Rybakina
Bartunkova wasn’t the only Czech teenager to impress on Thursday. Tereza Valentova, 18, came through a 2-hour, 41-minute barnburner in a first meeting with 20-year-old compatriot Linda Fruhvirtova 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 to advance to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
Ranked at a career high of No. 54 this week, Valentova is contesting her first senior Australian Open, and just her seventh tour-level main draw overall. But she is already a WTA finalist, having been runner-up in Osaka last October, and she outlasted Fruhvirtova with superior aggressive weapons and greater variety. Valentova saved four set points in overturning a 5-3 first-set deficit, and tallied 35 winners to her countrywoman’s 17.
Her reward will be a second shot at No. 5 seed Elena Rybakina, who came from 3-1 down in the first set to defeat Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 6-2. The pair previously met in the second round of the US Open last year; Valentova held a 5-2 lead, and four set points, in the second set before falling 6-3, 7-6(7).
