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2025 Australian Open Second Round Upsets

The second round of the 2025 Australian Open has wrapped up with a few major upsets on both the women’s and men’s sides.

WTA

Laura Siegemund def. (No. 5) Zheng Qinwen 7-6 (7-3), 6-3

Last year’s Australian Open runner-up, Zheng Qinwen, exited the tournament in the second round, falling to No. 97 Laura Siegemund in straight sets. Zheng faced two time violations during the match, one of which occurred at a critical point in the second set while serving at 1-2, 15-30. She had a heated exchange with the umpire, claiming she couldn’t see the serve clock, and subsequently lost that service game, which turned out to be a decisive break in the match.

Zheng had a breakout year in 2024, winning the Olympic gold medal in Paris and finishing as the runner-up at both the Australian Open and WTA Finals.

Naomi Osaka def. (No. 20) Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-1, 6-3

Naomi Osaka has reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in three years with her win over No. 20 Karolina Muchova. This was her biggest win since returning from maternity leave just over a year ago. Osaka had a strong start to her season, making her first final in nearly three years in Auckland, although she retired from that match due to an abdominal injury after winning the first set. Her participation in the Australian Open was uncertain, but she chose to compete despite still feeling some discomfort after just over a week of recovery.

The two-time Australian Open champion will face former top-five player Belinda Bencic in the third round.

ATP

Learner Tien def. (No. 5) Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (8-10), 1-6, 7-6 (10-7)

19-year-old qualifier Learner Tien pulls off the biggest upset of the tournament so far, defeating three-time Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev in a fifth-set tiebreak. He advances to the third round after a four-hour and 49-minute match that ended at 2:55 AM local time.

The Southern California native has shown strong results at the junior level, reaching the boys’ singles finals at the Australian and US Open in 2023, and the ATP Next Gen Finals in 2024, where he lost to Brazilian João Fonseca.

Medvedev, a consistent title contender on hard courts in recent years, experienced a dip in form due to a hip injury in 2024 and had a late start to this season following the birth of his second child. He played a tough five-set match in the first round against a wild card and faced similar challenges in this match against Tien.

Tien is the only qualifier left in the men’s draw and will face France’s Corentin Moutet in the third round.

Jakub Mensik def. (No. 6) Casper Ruud 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4

19-year-old Jakub Mensik gets the biggest win of his career, upsetting No. 6 Casper Ruud in four sets to reach the Australian Open third round. Mensik competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals in December and has had a solid start to his season, making the quarterfinals at ATP 250 events in Auckland and Brisbane.

Mensik now has the opportunity to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time and will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round.

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