Aryna Sabalenka‘s 15-match winning streak that included titles in Ostrava, Linz and Abu Dhabi was ended by Kaia Kanepi in the second round of the Gippsland Trophy, an Australian Open warm-up tournament at Melbourne Park.
In their first career meeting, the world No.94 Kanepi recorded a topsy-turvy 6-1 2-6 6-1 victory over the seventh-ranked Sabalenka. The Estonian was twice two points away from defeat in the first round against Australian wildcard Astra Sharma, but after recovering from 6-1 5-3 down to win that match on Sunday, she found the rhythm which helped her against the red-hot Belarusian on Tuesday afternoon.
Commenting on her game, the former Top 15 player Kanepi said after the match:
When I play well and aggressive, I think it’s tough for anybody to beat me.
The 35-year-old Kanepi is the oldest player in the Gippsland Trophy draw and this is her 12th career win over a Top 10 opponent.
I wish Kanepi is more discpline with her training, she is such a top 10 materials, she has the powers and beaten many top 10 players, she even pushed Serena to deciding set. Just wished she improved her footwork better, cause sometimes its as lazy as Pliskova’s
Ian, Kaia was also troubled by injuries. For example, in 2016 she had a career-low year-end ranking of No.302 due to being hampered by the Epstein-Barr virus and plantar fasciitis in both feet.