This 23-year-old is writing her own tennis fairytale

Eva Lys dropped her racket and put her hands over her face in disbelief. The tennis player, who had made it into the main draw at the last minute, had just experienced a small tennis fairytale at the Australian Open.

14 January 2025

From: dpa

The 23-year-old advanced to the second round of the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne for the first time with a 6:2, 6:2 win against Australian Kimberly Birrell, although she had almost thought she was on the plane heading home.

"My flight was booked for tomorrow morning," said Lys. "I found out five minutes before it took off that I would be playing the match."

Eva Lys shows her best tennis in Melbourne. © APA/afp / YUICHI YAMAZAKI

The Russian Anna Kalinskaja, seeded 13th, pulled out of the tournament at short notice, so that the Hamburg native moved up as a so-called lucky loser. Lys used her chance in an impressive way. The French Varvara Gracheva awaits in the next round.
"I'm just happy," said Lys, who played with a permanent smile. "I made mistakes, but I was still happy to be on the pitch. That was definitely the key."

"She's so nervous" Eva Lys

Lys played boldly and with great skill against the Australian local hero in the Kia Arena, one of the four large arenas in Melbourne Park. The world number 128 took advantage of Birrell's uncertainty, who had prepared for a match as an underdog against Kalinskaja. "She's really nervous, I'd be just as nervous if I were her," said Lys as she went to the towel.

Actually, Lys would already be home

Lys won the first set with four breaks, and even a toilet break did not give Birrell the focus he had hoped for. Lys continued to play courageously and won the match after just 70 minutes. On the sidelines, national coach Torben Beltz was also amazed by the fantastic performance.

Lys narrowly missed out on a place in the main draw in the last qualifying round after a three-set loss to Australian Destanee Aiava.

Schlagwörter: Tennis ATP Australian Open Melbourne Eva Lys