1-3! Australian Open Sensation: World No. 6 Men's Singles Out, Another Top 8 Seed Falls After Zheng Qinwen
Beijing time January 15th, the fourth day of the 2025 Australian Open has seen another major upset, with world number six men's singles player Casper Ruud eliminated after a four-set battle that ended in a 1-3 defeat to Czech rising star Jiri Lehecka! On this match day, following Zheng Qinwen, another top 8 seed in singles has fallen, with both Zheng and Ruud exiting in the second round of women's and men's singles respectively.
Ruud has reached the men's singles final at Grand Slam events three times - twice at the French Open and once at the US Open - but has lost all three finals to Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic, earning three runner-up finishes.
Last season, Ruud achieved his first victory over the world number one by defeating Djokovic at the Monte Carlo Masters and made it to the French Open semifinals for the third consecutive year. Despite not performing well in the other three Grand Slams, Ruud still managed to qualify for the year-end finals. At the year-end finals, Ruud ended his four-match losing streak against Alcaraz, advancing from the group stage to the semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion Sinner.
Entering the 2025 season, at the first Grand Slam event of the year, the Australian Open, Ruud competed as the sixth seed, placed in the men's singles 4/4 zone. Another top 8 seed in the same zone is world number two Alexander Zverev.
In the previous men's singles first-round match, Ruud's performance was quite average, struggling through five sets before finally securing a 3-2 victory over Spanish player Pedro Martinez. In the same section, last season's ATP Rookie of the Year and Czech rising star Jiri Lehecka displayed impressive form, eliminating Georgian player Nikoloz Basilashvili with a 3-1 scoreline to become Ruud's opponent in the second round of men's singles.
In this match, facing world number six Ruud, Lehecka continued his fiery form from the previous round, breaking through Ruud's baseline defense with his aggressive offense to win the first set 6-2, taking an early 1-0 lead.
In the second set, Ruud improved his game, breaking Lehecka's serve to win the set 6-3 and level the match.
However, in the subsequent third set, the situation took a dramatic turn as Ruud's form plummeted, with increased unforced errors. Lehecka capitalized on multiple break points to win the set 6-1 comfortably, regaining the lead at 2-1.
In the fourth set, both players held their service games in the first six games. However, Ruud experienced a dip in form in the seventh game, allowing Lehecka to seize the opportunity and complete the first break of serve! Lehecka then maintained his advantage, eventually winning the set 6-4 to secure a 3-1 victory, stunningly eliminating world number six Ruud and advancing to the third round of men's singles. The 19-year-old Czech prodigy Jiri Lehecka achieved a career breakthrough by reaching the Australian Open men's singles 32 for the first time and also equaled his best Grand Slam performance!
The fourth day of the Australian Open is still ongoing, and two major upsets have already occurred. Prior to the 6th seeded men's singles player Ruud losing 1-3 to Czech rising star Lehecka, the 5th seeded women's singles player Zheng Qinwen lost 0-2 to German veteran Tatjana Maria.