Melbourne: Elina Svitolina broke down in tears after she was forced to retire from her Australian Open fourth-round clash against Linda Noskova.
The former World No. 3 was broken in her opening service game, which lasted 11 minutes and contained 20 points, before Noskova, who took down Swiatek in a stunning three-setter win earlier this week, held serve to gain an early 2-0 lead.
Then, Svitolina called for a medical time-out for a back injury. When she returned, the Ukrainian player had had her serve broken for a second time after which a tearful Svitolina decided to quit as she shook Noskova’s hand and retired.
Noskova, ranked 50 in the world, is enjoying a breakout tournament, including a stunning win against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the third round.
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A sad end to the action on MCA as Elina Svitolina retires with injury at 0-3.
Linda Noskova advances to the quarterfinals.
Speedy recovery, Elina ?#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/mFcJuu7GAX
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 22, 2024
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