“There were doubts that Kalinskaya was ready to play successfully at the Australian Open” – Yanchuk

Honored coach of Russia Viktor Yanchuk admitted that he doubted the readiness of Russian tennis player Anna Kalinskaya to successfully perform at the Australian Open, which is taking place in Melbourne.

On Monday, Kalinskaya defeated the 26th seeded Jasmine Paolini from Italy in the fourth round of the tournament with a score of 6:4, 6:2. In the quarterfinal match of the Australian Open, the Russian will play against the Chinese Zheng Qingwen (12th seed).

— Anna has been a household name for the last three or four years, but we haven’t seen a sporting outburst from her yet. Today she declared herself so seriously for the first time – after all, she had never made it to such high stages of Grand Slam tournaments before. She has no shortage of skill – Kalinskaya had it before, but she couldn’t shoot. I admit, there were doubts about Kalinskaya’s readiness to play successfully at the Australian Open. This is the first prestigious major tournament of the year, there is very little time for preparation, and the ability and skill of the players to catch their peak form comes to the fore. At this period of the season there are more coincidences than, relatively speaking, in the middle.

Anna is already 25 years old, but it’s not too late to reach her best level. Let’s remember the example of Chinese Li Na, who won the Grand Slam tournament at a fairly advanced age by tennis standards. Kalinskaya’s self-confidence must reach a new level, and this, in turn, is a key factor for progress. Today’s success is the step she was missing,” Yanchuk told RT.

• Kalinskaya said that she has not yet realized reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open