History made, kindness shown: Sonmez aids ballkid, posts upset in Melbourne

Qualifier Zeynep Sonmez delivered sportsmanship, hot shots and ultimately a slice of Turkish history after coming from 3-0 down in the third set to upset No. 11 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in the Australian Open first round.

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Sonmez, 23, claimed the second Top 20 win of her career (following her defeat of Clara Tauson in Beijing last year), and became the first Turkish woman in the Open Era to win a match at the Australian Open. Last year, she became the second Turkish woman to compete in the main draw here following Cagla Buyukakcay, who fell in the 2017 first round in her only main-draw appearance.

The 2-hour, 37-minute contest was marked by wild momentum swings -- Sonmez won the first set from 5-2 down, saving one set point, with a run of seven straight games; she lost the second set from 3-1 up as Alexandrova took eight of the next nine games; but from 3-0 down in the decider, Sonmez hit her stride again to take six of the last seven games, converting her fourth match point as Alexandrova netted a backhand.

Sonmez's third-set comeback was kickstarted by one of the best points of the day, a masterclass of rally construction. With Alexandrova serving up 3-1, 15-30, Sonmez opened the court with a powerful angled forehand. She followed it by pulling Alexandrova into net with a drop shot, and although Alexandrova still managed to get decent pace on to her own reply, Sonmez anticipated it and managed to slot a forehand pass at full stretch for a winner.

The World No. 112 also won over the 1573 Arena audience with a display of sportsmanship late in the second set. As Alexandrova served at 5-3, a ballkid next to the umpire's chair appeared to faint. Sonmez was the first over to her, and helped the ailing girl to a courtside seat in the shade. She later received medical attention and left the site.

"She was really struggling," Sonmez later told BBC Sport. "She said she was fine but it was really obvious she was not fine. So I went to grab her and said 'Sit down and drink something, you're not fine.'

"As we were walking she fainted so luckily I grabbed her. She was really shaking.

"I always say it is more important to be a good human being than a good tennis player. It was just my instinct to help her and I think everyone would do the same. I'm happy I got to help."

Not that the crowd needed any further encouragement to get behind Sonmez. She enjoyed fervent Turkish support throughout; a plethora of the country's flags were waved, and Sonmez adorned herself with one of them for a victory lap after the match. It's not the first time she's attracted this kind of excitement by breaking new ground. Last year, London's Turkish diaspora turned out for Sonmez at Wimbledon as she became the first Turkish player to reach the third round of a Grand Slam in the Open Era -- a run that was halted by none other than Alexandrova.

Sonmez, who dropped just 13 games in three qualifying matches last week, is bidding to return to the Top 100 after reaching a career high of No. 69 last October.