Svitolina Stuns Paolini For Family Fairytale at Australian Open

Elina Svitolina completed a family fairytale day at the Australian Open on Saturday when she emulated her husband Gael Monfils in knocking out a world number four in the third round.

Ukraine’s Svitolina beat Jasmine Paolini 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the women’s draw just hours after Monfils stunned Taylor Fritz on the same Margaret Court Arena in the men’s singles.

The 38-year-old Frenchman Monfils was watching from Svitolina’s on-court coaching box as the couple both reached the last 16 of the first Grand Slam of the year.

“It was a crazy battle today. I got inspired after my husband’s win,” said Svitolina, the 28th seed.

“I watched a little bit of that match, of course it was tough to miss.”

Svitolina stepped up the pace in the second set after dropping five games in a row to lose the first against the Italian Paolini.

She moved in closer to take the ball earlier and moved the speedy Paolini around with huge forehands.

Svitolina took a tight second set after an early break then completely ran away with the third as Paolini had no answers to her shot-making.

“To be fair I played so bad in the first set I had to really push through,” said Svitolina.

“I’m really happy with the way I came back into the match. Really happy with the performance in the end.”

Svitolina sets up a clash against unseeded Russian Veronika Kudermetova, who earlier beat Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4, 6-2.

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Usyk Triumphs in Giza With a Knockout Victory Over Verhoeven

Defending champion Oleksandr Usyk successfully retained his heavyweight titles by securing an 11th-round technical knockout against Rico Verhoeven on Saturday, May 23. The 39-year-old Ukrainian struggled early on against the significant height and reach advantage of the structural underdog, falling behind on the scorecards during the first half of the match. However, Usyk’s physical conditioning and tactical ring intelligence allowed him to shift momentum in the later frames, ultimately flooring the Dutchman before the referee stopped the bout in the final seconds of the 11th round.

In 2024, Paolini became the first Italian woman to make the last 16 at all four Grand Slams in the Open Era and won the title in Dubai in a breakthrough season that propelled her into the top five.

She also reached maiden major finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon but saw her run come to a juddering halt in 1hr 46min in Melbourne.

Veteran Monfils upset fourth seed Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 to make the last 16 for a sixth time on his 19th appearance at the tournament.