Melbourne – For the first time since 2016, two-time tournament winner Viktoria Asarenka has reached the last 16 of the Australian Open.
The 32-year-old tennis player from Belarus was surprisingly dominant in Melbourne, defeating Ukrainian 15th seed Yelina Svitolina 6-0, 6-2. Her next opponent is Czech French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova. The world number four won the duel with former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko from Latvia 2:6, 6:4, 6:4.
Asarenka won the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013, having missed the first Grand Slam tournament of the year in 2017, 2018 and 2020. Last year and in 2019, the world No. 25 was eliminated in the first round. Six years ago, Asarenka made it to the quarter-finals.
Asarenka was cautious about Corona’s testing strategy at the Australian Open. “We had rigorous testing and people were not happy. Now it seems that somehow people are not happy either. I think it will be difficult to find the middle ground,” she said. She said it was important to take your own responsibility for taking precautions and for testing.
Upon arrival, Australian Open participants had to take a PCR test. After five to seven days, a rapid test was required. Apart from that, according to the organisers, rapid tests are provided, but they are voluntary.
