In the biggest upset of the Australian Open so far, women's No.6 seed Ons Jabeur was thrashed in straight sets 6-0, 6-2 by 16-year-old Mira Andreeva on Rod Laver Arena in under an hour.
The teenager, who was runner-up in the junior event in Melbourne last year, took advantage of 24 unforced errors by last year's Wimbledon runner-up as she won in just 54 minutes.
Andreeva also had the distinction of being the first player through to the third round in 2024.
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"I was really nervous before the match because I'm really inspired by Ons and the way she plays," Andreeva said. "Before I started on the WTA Tour, I always watched her matches and was always so inspired. Now I had the chance to play against her."
The match was played under the roof on Rod Laver Arena, with rain causing the start of matches on the outside courts to be delayed for several hours.
The unseeded Andreeva, ranked No.47 in the world, totally dominated the former world No.2, racing to a 5-0 lead in the opening set that went 20 minutes with Jabeur winning just eight points.
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By the end of the first set Jabuer had more unforced errors (10) than winners.
The Tunisian star who was the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2022 and 2023 and at the US Open in 2022, had no answers for Andreeva, who made a name for herself last year, advancing to the third round at the French Open and the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Speaking after her straight-sets win, the 16-year-old said she was "amazed" by her performance against an inspirational player like Jabeur.
"I am really inspired by the way she plays and before I started to play on the WTA tour, I always watched her matches and was so inspired by the way she plays," she said.
"Honestly in the first set, I showed amazing tennis and I didn't expect that from myself."
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