Alina Korneeva is yet to step foot in a Grand Slam main draw, but the teenager is already quietly stamping a reputation for winning the hard way at Melbourne Park following her fifth straight three-set triumph.
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Last year’s junior No.1 narrowly reached the final round of Australian Open 2024 qualifying on Thursday after she fended off a pair of match points against China’s Ma Ye-Xin 5-7 6-4 7-6[5].
The two-hour, 53-minute feat followed her 7-5 third-set victory over 31st seed Sachia Vickery in the opening round and a trio of three-setters for the girls’ singles title at last year’s Australian Open.
“The match was not really good for me in tennis, but mentally I was really strong and really grateful for this,” Korneeva beamed.
“I'm really happy that I saved some match points because I was concentrating not to think about them.”
It was not even the 16-year-old’s most dramatic path to victory at Melbourne Park.
A year ago, she needed three hours and 18 minutes to finally close out the final at Rod Laver Arena for her maiden junior Slam title.
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Her beaten opponent that day? Fellow 16-year-old and now world No.47 Mirra Andreeva.
While Andreeva went on to qualify and reach the third round in her Roland Garros debut four months later, Korneeva opted for a route of patience.
Her decision to remain in juniors secured the girls’ singles trophy in Paris and made her the first woman since Magdalena Maleeva in 1990 to win the opening two junior Slams.
“Of course, I have a lot of great memories here in Melbourne,” she grinned.
“The most important, I think, is of course the final last year. What I felt in that moment and some memories when I see some places, I was like ‘I remember I cried in this place’.
“But I try to not think about what I did last year now. It's already women's now, not juniors, it's very different. I just try to enjoy it. Today I didn't enjoy, but I got there.”
Korneeva will next meet Hungarian Anna Bondar for a place in the main draw.
In the final women’s qualifying match of the day, 21-year-old Zeynep Sonmez persevered through pain for a 4-6 6-1 6-1 victory over 13th seed Olga Danilovic.
It brought the 21-year-old to within reach of becoming the first Turkish woman to play an Australian Open main draw since former world No.60 Cagla Buyukakcay in 2017.
“It was a very emotional match for me,” Sonmez said. “I have a tear on my left abdominal, so I tried my best and just so happy that I won.
“Cagla is like an older sister for all of us, the younger generation, so we learn a lot from her.
“It would mean a lot (in Turkey to reach the main draw) but right now I need to think about recovering. If that would happen though it would be amazing."
Sonmez will face Swiss Lulu Sun for a place in the main draw.
In other results on Thursday, Czech 10th seed Brenda Fruhvirtova narrowly kept alive her hopes of qualifying a second straight year after saving a match point against Australian Talia Gibson 1-6 6-3 7-5, while Mexican second seed Renata Zarazua edged out former world No.61 Jule Niemeier 6-4 5-7 7-6[10] in just under three hours.
The world No.98 had two match points at 5-1 in the third and required six more in the match tiebreak to prevail.
Four Australians – Destanee Aiava, Storm Hunter, Maya Joint and Maddison Inglis – joined compatriot Priscilla Hon, a second-round winner on Wednesday, in the final round of qualifying.
A trio of Ukrainians – top seed Dayana Yastremska, 24th seed Daria Snigur and Yuliia Starodubtseva – and Czechs – Fruhvirtova, 19-year-old Dominika Salkova and Gabriela Knutson – also advanced to the final round.