Lin Zhu (87 WTA) sprung a surprise at this edition of the Australian Open and knocked out Maria Sakkari (6 WTA) en route to the last eight, 7-6, 1-6, 6-4.

Lin Zhu, Australian Open 2023Photo: Martin KEEP / AFP / Profimedia

Maria Sakkari, out of the Australian Open – Lin Zhu will play Victoria Azarenka

Although she was clearly the favorite in this argument, Elena Maria Sakkari was defeated by the player who is ranked 87 in the WTA rankings.

Lin Zhu held on well in the first set and won the tiebreak exactly one hour later.

The second act completely belonged to Maria Sakkari, who won 5 straight sets at 1-1.

The deciding set got off to a bad start for the Greek as she lost serve and Lin Zhu quickly made it 2-0.

However, Maria Sakkari held strong and managed to keep pace with the Chinese at 4-4, but she lost her serve again and Lin Zhu took advantage to close out the match.

In the next stage of the competition, Lin Zhu will meet two-time winner of the Australian Open (2012, 2013) Victoria Azarenka (24 WTA).