Marta Kostyuk makes Australian Open last eight

Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk celebrates after victory against Russia’s Maria Timofeeva during their women’s singles match on day eight of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 21, 2024. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk ended the fairytale run of Russian qualifier Maria Timofeeva at the Australian Open on Sunday, crushing her 6-2, 6-1 to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Timofeeva, on her Grand Slam debut, caught the eye in Melbourne, beating former champion Caroline Wozniacki and 10th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia on her way to the fourth round.

But she came unstuck against 37th-ranked Kostyuk on Kia Arena, in a game briefly interrupted by a rain shower.

“Honestly, it means a lot and I still probably cannot process it,” said Kostyuk, who won the 2017 girls’ title at the Australian Open.

“I didn’t feel the pressure today and it’s great to have this kind of match in a Grand Slam — more time to recover and more time to process everything and it was a good match for me.

“I’m very happy to finally play as aggressively as I wanted to.”

She said she hoped to put on a good show when she comes up against US Open champion and fourth seed Coco Gauff in the quarterfinal.

Kostyuk, 21, surged into a 3-0 lead and a second break gave her the first set in 37 minutes.

It was even more one-sided in the second set, with the Ukrainian, just a year older than her opponent, losing just one game.

Kostyuk, who has spoken out strongly against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, opted not to shake hands with her opponent.