Tough going for Aussies in round one at Indian Wells, including some tears
After some great efforts in qualifying in which six Aussies added themselves to the main draw at Indian Wells, things haven’t gone so well in round one.
Indian Wells is considered the next in line after the majors, players love going to the small town in California and competing at this iconic tournament.
The town itself has a population of just under 5,000. Centre court at the tournament holds a crowd of 16,100.
In round one, 11 Aussies would take to the courts, two others had first round byes.
Of the 11 it was just Christopher O’Connell, Rinky Hijikata, Adam Walton and Kimberly Birrell that joined Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin in the second round.
Sadly for Ajla Tomljanovic and Nick Kyrgios it was injuries that again forced them to retire. Tomljanovic at 6-4 against USA’s Catherine McNally with a shoulder complaint and Kyrgios again troubled by his surgically repaired wrist.
Kyrgios was forced to retire at 7-6(7), 3-0 against Botic van de Zandschulp, the player that knocked out Carlos Alcaraz at the 2024 US Open.
Jordan Thompson, who has also been troubled by injury recently, lost to Corentin Moutet 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Aleksandar Vukic was another to lose in three sets, he lost to wildcard Tristan Boyer 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4).
Li Tu was bundled out in straight sets, losing to Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-2, 6-0.
Maya Joint’s recent momentum was halted by Sorana Cirstea of Romania. The 18-year-old Australian losing 6-2, 7-5.
Maddison Inglis was humbled by former Australian Open winner, Sofia Kenin, the final score was 6-2, 6-1.
Birrell pushed herself further up the rankings after defeating Swiss player Viktorija Golubic 6-4, 6-4. The top-ranked Australian female booking a round two match against the no. 28 seed Elise Mertens.
Walton won his match against Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri 7-5, 6-1. Next up for Walton is the no. 27 seed, Denis Shapovalov.
O’Connell advanced with a up and down performance against Spain’s Roberto Carbelles Baena, the final score 6-3, 0-6, 6-1. The no. 28 seed, Matteo Berrettini of Italy awaits in the second round.
For Kyrgios, he had tears after deciding to retire from his match. It was the Canberrans first match since the Australian Open, and he will evaluate the injury before deciding on his spot at the Miami Masters 1000 that directly follows on from Indian Wells.