To make it into the second round of the Australian Open for the first time, Tamara Korpatsch first had to digest her breakfast. “I was somehow still really full. I had breakfast at 9 a.m. and somehow I felt so sick,” said the Hamburger after her 2:6, 6:3, 6:0 against Brit Jodie Burrage in Melbourne.
It wasn’t until 4:2 in the second set that she felt better and her nervousness finally disappeared. In the period that followed, Korpatsch made significantly fewer mistakes and the 28-year-old now had the game on Court 13 at Melbourne Park firmly under control. After 1:51 hours, Korpatsch converted her second match point and moved into the second round of a Grand Slam tournament for the third time in a row.
There she will face number nine seeded Czech Barbora Krejcikova. “She’s a very good player. I trained with her at the US Open two years ago. She’s a top ten player, so it won’t be easy,” said Korpatsch about the 2021 French Open winner “But there is always a chance,” said Korpatsch, who won her first WTA tournament in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, at the end of last year.
Goal: Top 50
She wants to carry the momentum into the new year and get into the top 50 as quickly as possible. “That’s the obvious goal,” said the current number 81 in the world. “I want to collect as many points as possible because I have very few points to defend until May. So that I can reach the top 50 as quickly as possible,” said Korpatsch about her goals in the first half of 2024.
Ella Seidel was the second German to take part in the action on Sunday. The 18-year-old qualifier from Hamburg will face defending champion Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus in the second game of the night session in the Rod Laver Arena.
On Monday, six German tennis professionals will be in Melbourne. Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber, on the other hand, only get involved on Tuesday.
Sinner continues without any problems
In the men’s race, co-favorite Jannik Sinner made it into the second round without any major problems. The world number four from Italy won against the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6:4, 7:5, 6:3.
For the Italian Matteo Berrettini, however, the Australian Open is already over. The 2022 Melbourne semi-finalist has to sit out due to a foot injury and therefore cannot play in his first round game against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas on Monday.
