Daria Gavrilova, the 21-year old hometown hero at the Australian Open, came back to defeat 28th-seeded Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 on Friday to advance to the weekend and continue her surprising run of play.
Gavrilova has lived in Australia for three years and has been adopted by the loyal Aussies as a local favorite in the tournament, especially after her second-round upset over 6th-seed Petra Kvitova.
Gavrilova has looked, at times, like the moment is too big for her, but she’s risen back in both of her last two matches to advance, showing a level of toughness the Austrialian fans love.
They loved this too.
In her post-match interview, Gavrilova was asked about fighting back to win when it looks like a match is lost. Her answer was, well, pretty hilarious.
The late-night Aussie crowd loved it, and Gavrilova was a great sport about the gaffe before going back to her regular interview, telling the crowd how she wants to win again on Sunday. If she wasn’t already a fan favorite, she sure as heck is now.
UPDATE: