On the second day of play at the Bendigo International, it was two Australian teenagers who in defeat were the highlights of the remaining Australian contingency.
Talia Gibson and James McCabe were both defeated in tight three-set matches respectively. However, their performances certainly generated immense excitement across the Fosterville Gold Tennis Center.
18-year-old James McCabe and Frenchman Alexandre Muller kicked off proceedings on Tuesday morning and delivered an enthralling contest. It took a while for McCabe to get going, but once he did, it looked like a major upset was on the cards. The Aussie battled hard, forcing World #224 Muller to bring out his A-game, which led the Frenchman to eventually prevail in three sets 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-4.
Qualifier Kody Pearson was unable to make it past Portugal's Gastao Elias. In 65 minutes, the Aussie fell 2-6 1-6.
On the women's side, it was a remarkable effort from the youngest hope of the day which came closest to moving onto the second round.
17-year-old Talia Gibson came agonizingly close to defeating world #251 Hanna Chang, but went down 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-7(1). Gibson played a spirited match, well above her ranking and age to push the American right to the very end.
Wildcard Alana Parnaby was unable to overcome her Dutch opponent Arianne Hartono. The World No. 187 disposed of Parnaby 6-0 6-2.
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