Simona Halep and Aryna Sabalenka crash out of Australian Open

Two of the favourites for the women’s Australian Open title crashed out in Melbourne on Monday as No2 seed Aryna Sabalenka and two-time Grand Slam winner Simona Halep were defeated in three sets.

Halep’s unbeaten start to 2022 came to an abrupt halt when she was knocked out by Alize Cornet. The 32-year-old Frenchwoman had never made it to a Grand Slam quarter-final but, at the 63rd attempt, edged out her Romanian opponent 6-4 3-6 6-4.

And then Kaia Kanepi finally won out on a super tiebreak 5-7 6-2 7-6 having failed to convert five earlier break points in a nailbiting finish.

Halep, a two-time Grand Slam winner and a previous Australian Open finalist, had looked in good form this year having won all eight of her previous matches, including a warm-up title triumph in Adelaide.

But the former world No1, who had lost just 12 games in her preceding three matches at the Australian Open, finally came unstuck against Cornet.

Both players struggled to get a stranglehold on the match initially with breaks of serve coming thick and fast in an opening set which Cornet just edged.

She broke again in the second set before a Halep fightback levelled the match and brought with it a deciding set.

Halep had the opportunity to break in the seventh game of that set but could not make it count and Cornet punished the missed chance by breaking herself in the subsequent game, from where she was able to stay ahead of her opponent.

The fourth-round match between Sabalenka and Kanepi hung in the balance until the deciding tiebreak. Having swapped a set apiece, the Estonian looked to have the match in her grasp but could not convert five break points. And yet she recovered from the missed opportunities.

After the win, Kanepi: “It was a really tough match. I thought I’m going to lose it after match points on my serve. It was really difficult to come back. I don’t know how I got the win.”