Australian Open Day 5 Women’s Recap: Two Huge Upsets

The remaining women’s second-round contests were completed on Day 5 of the Australian Open. Several American players, including defending champion Madison Keys, Amanda Anisimova, and the consistent Jessica Pegula competed. Naomi Osaka, Wimbledon winner Iga Swiatek, and Belinda Bencic were among the others in action. We here at LWOT recap the day’s most notable events below.

Australian Open Day 5 Women’s Recap

Who Looked Good

Madison Keys saw off fellow American Ashlyn Krueger 6-1 7-5. The match could easily have gone to a deciding set when Krueger led the second 5-2 and held a set point at 5-4. Instead, Keys recovered in the nick of time to avoid the stress of a third. Although she started the second set slowly, last year’s champion played pretty well and seems in a confident place heading into the third round.

Iga Swiatek’s performance against Marie Bouzkova was better than in the previous round. She overcame the Czech 6-2 6-3 and was more secure throughout than a few days ago against Yue Yuan. The world No. 2 did not play perfectly and undoubtedly knows there are still areas to improve, but this effort must still have been welcome after being out of sorts in her last match.

Amanda Anisimova was similarly comfortable against Katerina Siniakova. The Wimbledon and US Open runner-up progressed to the third-round with a 6-1 6-4 win. Siniakova made the second set competitive after adjusting somewhat to the American’s brutal hitting, but there was never much doubt about who the winner would be.

Elena Rybakina shrugged off a slow start against Varvara Gracheva on Rod Laver Arena. Gracheva led 3-1 due to a combination of her own impressive shot-making and the Kazakhstani not being at her absolute best. Last year’s WTA Finals champion raised her game after that, and the usually inconsistent Gracheva paid the price for making too many needless unforced errors in crucial moments. It finished 7-5 6-2.

Who Looked Bad

2025 Dubai Championships champion Belinda Bencic, who had been seen by many as a realistic Australian Open title contender, crashed out in Melbourne on Day 5. After losing the opening set against Nikola Bartunkova, who was playing just her second Grand Slam main draw contest, Bencic seemed destined for the third round when she took the second 6-0. Incredibly, Bartunkova won eight consecutive points from 4-4 0-15 in the third to triumph 6-3 0-6 6-4 and cause a huge shock.

American McCartney Kessler seemed overwhelmed by the occasion against Jessica Pegula on Rod Laver Arena. She made repeated unforced errors and was bageled in the first, and did not improve much in the second, losing 0-6 2-6. Kessler could not find a comfortable balance between attack and defense against the steady and impressive Pegula.

Match of the day

Xinyu Wang’s terrific victory 4-6 6-4 6-4 Jelena Ostapenko could have been chosen as the day’s best match. Wang’s previous wins against players like Gauff and Pegula and Ostapenko’s poor form since May mean this was only a minor upset. However, the shot-making from both made it an occasion to remember.

Maddison Inglis and Laura Siegemund’s battle was even better. The pair entered the match after respective upset triumphs against Kimberly Birrell and Liudmila Samsonova. Both players struggled on serve early on, leading to four consecutive breaks to start the contest. Inglis remained slightly steadier from that point and took the set 6-4.

Siegemund’s variety caused the home favorite more trouble in the second. She led 5-2 before Inglis launched a stirring comeback to force a tiebreak. The German regained her composure to win it 7-3 and force a decider. Once again, Siegemund held the early advantage, taking a 5-3 lead.

The veteran’s inability to close out the set proved fatal this time. Inglis recovered again, but she carried that momentum into the deciding ten-point tiebreak. Despite much craftiness from Siegemund that was delightful to watch, Inglis’s more conventional style prevailed in the end. The Australian reached the third round with a 6-4 6-7(7-3) 7-6(10-7) victory that delighted the home fans watching.