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Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus waits to return a serve during her Women’s Singles first round match against Oceane Dodin of France on Day Two of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
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Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus waits to return a serve during her Women’s Singles first round match against Oceane Dodin of France on Day Two of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
WTA 500 Melbourne saw not one but two great upsets today. Firstly, Great Britain’s Katie Boulter successfully caused an upset for the American talent Cori Gauff. And then, Estonian professional Kaia Kanepi ceased the winning streak of the World No.7 Aryna Sabalenka.
Both Gauff and Sabalenka lost their match in three sets, and it indicates that the season is only going to get tougher from here on. While Coco gave up a good lead to her British opponent, Aryna had been out of her rhythm from the time she stepped out on the court.
Aryna Sabalenka loses to Kaia Kanepi with two breadsticks
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This loss came as a big surprise as it ended the 15-match winning streak of Aryna Sabalenka. The winner of the Abu Dhabi 2021 was far from her best, but Kaia Kanepi played unbelievably well throughout the match.
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Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus celebrates after winning a point during her Women’s Singles second-round match against Daria Kasatkina of Russia on day five of the 2020 French Open at Roland Garros on in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Additionally, the scoreline will haunt Aryna for days to come with the match ending 1-6, 6-2, 1-6. However, she will have to recover from her loss quickly with he first Major of the year looming large.
Never give up 👊@KanepiKaia ends Sabalenka's winning streak with a three set win, 6-1, 2-6, 6-1!#GippslandWTA pic.twitter.com/yvrkLAqg93
— wta (@WTA) February 2, 2021
Moving ahead, World No.7 will need serious training to prepare herself for the Australian Open 2021 starting next week. Last year, Sabalenka did not even clear the first round of the Happy Slam.
To make 2021 her breakthrough season, she only has to go upwards from now on. And given her competitions’ rising potential, the 22-year-old will need to analyze her setbacks in no time.
Read More: Simona Halep Says ‘Courts Are Faster’ After Her Impressive Win at WTA 500 Melbourne
Coco Gauff blows lead against Katie Boulter
Another upset was the 16-year-old Coco Gauff failing in three sets to Katie Boulter. Evidently, this will be a big setback for her right at the start of her new season.
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 20: Coco Gauff of the United States of America plays a backhand during her Women’s Singles first-round match against Venus Williams of the United States of America on day one of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2020, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Initially, Gauff had taken a lead in the match with 6 games to 3. However, she could not maintain her control over the match and that was all Katie Boulter needed to pounce.
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Boulter snatched the game from the American’s hands to finish it at 6-3, 5-7, 2-6. She will now face the winner between Japan’s Naomi Osaka and France’s Alize Cornet in the Round of 16.
Even in the last match, Coco had barely managed to get through against Jil Teichmann. But this time, it did not work out the same way for Coco.
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Now, Coco and Aryna will head to the training grounds to come back stronger from this. And considering the wealth of their talent, it is not impossible. But can they manage to return from this upset at the Australian Open?
