Big surprise: The 23-year-old German Eva Lys was actually already on the plane home. But then she was allowed to compete at the Australian Open. And how.
Christoph Cöln reports from Melbourne
Kimberley Birrell should actually have played against the number thirteenth seed at the Australian Open. But Anna Kalinskaja withdrew due to injury and so the local hero Birrell competed against a qualifier previously only known to experts: the German Eva Lys.
Lys was ranked 128th in the women’s world rankings before the tournament in Melbourne. However, due to Kalinskaja’s withdrawal, the 23-year-old from Hamburg moved into the main draw of the tournament as a lucky loser. She wasn’t preparing for a game at all, but rather for the flight back to Germany.
“My flight was booked for tomorrow morning,” Lys said after her match against Birrell. “I found out five minutes before it started that I was going to play the match.” The five minutes were probably proverbial, but the carefree attitude of Lys, who was born in Ukraine and grew up in Germany, paid off. “I didn’t have much hope, but so many people told me to stay positive – and I’m happy to have stayed here.”
After the US Open in 2023, it was only the second time that the young German had moved into the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament.
This is one of the reasons why it was actually clear to the Australian experts that things couldn’t have turned out better for Birrell. Instead of against a top seeded opponent, she unexpectedly had to compete against a lucky loser. But she hadn’t counted on the Germans’ willingness to play. Because she didn’t compete on one of the outdoor courts, but in the Kia Arena, one of the four large arenas in the Grand Slam tournament. The impressive scenery apparently didn’t bother them much. But the Australian did not cope well with the expectations of the home audience.
While Birrell struggled with her serve, produced numerous double faults and also lacked the right length in her strokes, Lys was brimming with self-confidence and played strongly. Ultimately, the 23-year-old made it into the second round of the Australian Open for the first time with a 6:2, 6:2 win against Birrell. The Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva is now waiting for Lys in the next round. After her impressive performance on Tuesday, the German doesn’t stand a chance there either.
“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.” Lys won the first set with four breaks, and even a toilet break didn’t bring Birrell the focus he had hoped for. Lys continued to act bravely and won the match after just 70 minutes. On the sidelines, national coach Torben Beltz was also amazed at the fantastic performance.
Lys actually narrowly missed out on making it into the main draw in the last qualifying round due to a three-set defeat against the Australian Destanee Aiava. “That was unbelievable. It’s not very common that it’s so close,” said national tennis coach Beltz and reported: “The warm-up wasn’t professional, the food wasn’t professional. We got some sushi and gave it to her on the court. That was chaotic.”
For Lys, the conclusion was simple: “Tennis is a mental sport. If you have zero expectations and are just happy that you get to play a match, it makes it easier,” she said. With this attitude she could write another tennis fairy tale in the second round.