Australian Open: Bejlek, Frühvirtova - the inexhaustible Czech reservoir continues to deliver
With Sara Bejlek, 16 years old, and 15-year-old Brenda Frühvirtova, two Czech teenagers have once again entered the main draw of the Australian Open with verve.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Jan 13, 2023, 02:35 pm
Of course one could criticize that Linda Noskova failed in round one of the qualification for the Australian Open 2023. The Noskova whose sensational run at the first WTA Tour 500 tournament in Adelaide was only stopped in the final by Aryna Sabalenka. The almost inexhaustible reservoir of Czech tennis hopes simply sent two new representatives into the main field of the first major of the year.
First of all there is Sara Bejlek. The 16-year-old (her 17th birthday will be celebrated at the end of January 2023) elegantly said goodbye to the US-American Alycia Parks, who was in first place, in the second qualifying round. She then made it into the main draw with a smooth win against the Russian Erika Andreeva.
Brenda Frühvirtova is a bit younger than Bejlek. That didn't stop the 15-year-old from qualifying as well. The younger of the two Frühvirtova sisters had to go through three sets against the Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Thursday, which only increased the joy of entering the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
Linda Frühvirtova, 17 years old, has already played in regions in the WTA world rankings where she has a fixed place for a major. The older early Virtova will open against Jamiee Fourlis of Australia.
Of course none of the teenagers will play for the title. However, veterans such as Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Krejcikova can hardly set themselves such high goals. The performances of those named, who were also plagued by injuries, have been too inconsistent in recent months. On the other hand: If you get a run with the women, anything is possible. Krejcikova in particular, who surprisingly won the title at the French Open in 2021, knows this all too well. And Krejcikova is also Sara Bejlek's first opponent.
Here is the individual tableau for women
laver arena