Anastasia Potapova is known for being a relentless baseliner, but not for her temperament until she showed that side of her game at the 2024 Australian Open.
On Monday, Potapvoa competed in the first round against Slovenia's Kaja Juvan. The Russian had won their lone career meeting before, which also happened at the Grand Slam level, at last year's Wimbledon. So, on paper, the 23rd-seeded Potapova had every right to be confident of progressing.
But tennis matches aren't won on paper. And Juvan, who has been ranked as high as World No. 58 not so long ago, showed her stoicism and punished Potapova's erratic performance. Juvan converted four of nine break points and won almost twice the number of receiving points in the match than her opponent.
Potapova was among the seeds who tumbled out at the first hurdle at the year's first Grand Slam, and losing quite comprehensively, 1-6, 4-6, to an energetic Juvan who avenged her loss to the Russian at last year's Wimbledon Championships.
But for the first time, tennis fans saw Potapova being overwhelmed by emotions on the court. The 22-year-old is an incredible ball striker who does a lot of heavy lifting and is known for her loud grunting, showing just how much she puts in every point.
However, things did not go well for her on Monday as Juvan outplayed her and broke multiple rackets during the match. It was an error-strewn performance by Potapova, who coughed up six double faults in the match and didn't record a single ace.
She also failed to take any of her two break-point chances. Immediately after losing the match, Potapova broke another racket before leaving it on the turf. Juvan showed modesty and decency in walking to the other side of the court, where she picked it up and gifted it to a spectator on Court 7.
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