A good start for the Aussies at the Australian Open qualifying
13 women and 15 men are competing in the Australian Open qualifying tournament.
On day one we saw Aleksander Vukic, Max Purcell, Dane Sweeny, Adam Walton and Alex Bolt get wins in the men’s event.
In the women’s event there were wins for Destanee Aiava and Zoe Hives.
In the losers column it was only James McCabe, Jeremy Jin and Derek Pham. A good start for the men.
The most impressive win was Adam Walton knocking out the 14th seed Pablo Andujar 6-1, 6-2.
“I’m really pleased,” Walton said. “It’s not easy your first time playing a Slam, I’m just grateful Tennis Australia has given me the opportunity to have a wildcard.”
“I took care of a lot of the tight games. They can be big momentum swingers. When you win the really long games it can be absolutely critical,” he said.
“I’ve chosen a different route to most, going through the college system but I don’t regret that. It’s helped my game so much and I feel like it is really progressing,” he said.
“I was glad to get out here. I’ve been looking forward to today more than anything since I got the word of the wildcard. I’ll savour every day here.”
Dane Sweeny also elimated a seed. He claimed 6-1, 6-1 win against No.27-seeded Czech Vit Kopriva.
“This is the biggest tournament of the year, so you are always a bit anxious,” said Sweeny.
“I expect a lot of myself. I played a solid match, I didn’t try to do too much, I just wanted to do the basics right.”
Below are the full results from the men’s day one qualifying.
[21] Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) d Gabriel Diallo (CAN) 6-3, 6-4.
Alex Bolt (AUS) d Renzo Olivo (ARG) 6-1, 6-2.
Max Purcell (AUS) d [2] Marco Cecchinato (ITA) 6-2, 3-2 ret.
[WC] Adam Walton (AUS) d [14] Pablo Andujar (ESP) 6-1, 6-2.
[WC] Dane Sweeny (AUS) d [27] Vit Kopriva (CZE) 6-1, 6-1.
[20] Zizou Bergs (BEL) d [WC] Jeremy Jin (AUS) 7-6(3), 6-1.
Alexandre Muller (FRA) d [WC] James McCabe (AUS) 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-3.
Peter Gojowczyk (GER) d [WC] Derek Pham (AUS) 6-2, 6-2.
Coming up on day 2
James Duckworth (AUS) v Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)
Li Tu (AUS) v [25] Jozef Kovalik (SVK)
Omar Jasika (AUS) v [6] Denis Kudla (USA)
Marc Polmans (AUS) v [24] Lukas Klein (SVK)
[WC] Tristan Schoolkate (AUS) v Kimmer Coppejans (BEL)
[WC] Philip Sekulic (AUS) v [30] Yosuke Watanuki (JPN)
[WC] Edward Winter (AUS) v Rio Noguchi (JPN)
Two from Six women advance
Destanee Aiava and Zoe Hives advanced to round two.
Aiava defeated Ipek Oz from Turkey 6-3, 6-3.
Hives defeated France’s Harmony Tan 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
“I’m so happy. It’s my first Grand Slam match for a while and I’m just happy to get the win,” Aiava said after defeating the world No.180.
“I didn’t put too much expectation on myself. I just wanted to go out and implement what I’ve been doing in training.”
“I’m definitely coming into this (week) with a bit of confidence from my last tournaments,” she said. “I’ve been training heaps and playing some AMT doubles with a friend as well, just to keep my match fitness going. So yeah, I’m feeling good.”
Zoe Hives (AUS) d Harmony Tan (FRA) 6-2 5-7 6-1
[WC] Destanee Aiava (AUS) d Ipek Oz (TUR) 6-3 6-3
[4] Cristina Bucsa (ESP) d [WC] Kaylah McPhee (AUS) 6-4 6-0
[13] Elena-Gabriela Ruse (ROU) d [WC] Seone Mendez (AUS) 6-1 3-6 6-1
[23] CoCo Vandeweghe (USA) d Arina Rodionova (AUS) 6-4 7-6(8)
Elina Avanesyan d [WC] Lizette Cabrera (AUS) 6-2 6-3
Priscilla Hon (AUS) v Katrina Scott (USA)
Maddison Inglis (AUS) v Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)
[WC] Astra Sharma (AUS) v Katharina Hobgarski (GER)
[WC] Alexandra Bozovic (AUS) v [1] Alycia Parks (USA)
[WC] Ellen Perez (AUS) v [WC] Petra Hule (AUS)
[WC] Elysia Bolton (AUS) v [26] Jodie Burrage (GBR)
Many of the players competing in qualifying were in Canberra last week, a good training ground.
Most were photographed by Robicia Tennis Photography. If you are looking for photos of players, head over and take a look. https://www.robiciatennisphotography.com/