Tunisian Ons Jabeur followed up her stunning performance in the first round of the Australian Open by coming from a set down to defeat France’s Caroline Garcia on Wednesday to advance to the third round.
The world number 78, who won 1-6, 6-2, 6-3, fired 24 winners, saved half of the break points against her and converted 71 percent of break points her opponent faced.
Jabeur had knocked out 2016 semifinalist and British number one Johanna Konta in straight sets in the previous round.
Garcia, ranked 28 places above Jabeur, raced through the first set in just 24 minutes breaking her twice in the fourth and sixth games to claim the set 6-1.
However, the tide turned in the second set with Garcia losing serve thrice as Jabeur, who only dropped serve once in that set, leveled the game at a set apiece.
The third set saw Garcia lose serve twice in the second and fourth games allowing the Tunisian to take a 5-3 lead. Jabeur would convert her second match point and take the set 6-3 to secure the win.
Jabeur has registered her best showing at this Grand Slam, having failed to make it past the first round on three previous occasions (2015, 2018 and 2019).
She will next play 2018 champion Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who is retiring after the tournament, in the third round on Friday
In the men’s draw, South African Kevin Anderson defeated Belarussian Ilya Ivashka in a thrilling five-set match in their first round encounter on Tuesday.
Anderson, who recently returned to competitive action following a lengthy injury layoff, prevailed 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 in a match which lasted just under four hours.
The two-time Grand Slam finalist uncharacteristically made 67 unforced errors, 19 of which came in the deciding set. However, Anderson crucially converted his second match point during the tie-break to claim the win.
Anderson will next face American Taylor Fritz in the second round at the 1573 Arena on Thursday.
