Six Australians are one step away from adding their names to the main draw in what was an emotional day as John Millman played his last professional tennis match.
It was another hot and humid day session around the grounds, but that didn’t stop fans from turning up in numbers once again.
The First Serve analyses how the Aussies fared on day 3 of qualifying at Melbourne Park.
Winners:
Dane Sweeny d. Luca Nardi 7-6(2) 6-2
Omar Jasika d. Zachary Svajda [32] 7-5 4-6 6-2
Destanee Aiava d. Jil Tiechmann [20] 2-6 7-5 6-1
Storm Hunter d. Celine Naef [30] 6-3 7-6(4)
Maya Joint d. Darja Semenistaja [32] 6-1 7-6(3)
Maddison Inglis d. Katarina Zavatska 7-6(3) 6-3
Dane Sweeny will be hoping to play Italians more often down under as he proved too strong for Next Gen talent Luca Nardi on KIA Arena.
The 22-year-old beat Matteo Gigante on Tuesday, only to back up that positive result in a gripping two-set tussle in an intense and fast-paced encounter against Nardi.
Today’s remaining four winners all toppled the top seeds with perhaps the most unexpected victory belonging to 17-year-old Maya Joint, coming into the frame as an unknown to many who don’t follow the tour all year round.
Competing on the challenger circuit for most of last season, Omar Jasika and Destanee Aiava’s round two victories were impressive as they come. Jasika took advantage of a tiring Svajda to wear him down whilst Aiava’s mental fortitude to come back from one set down is a sign of her growth and maturity as a player.
Storm Hunter replicated her slow start yesterday by going down an early break before recovering to take the match in straight sets against a very crafty opponent in Celine Naef.
Having reached the third round of the Australian Open main draw back in 2022, Maddison Inglis ensured her journey continues as she drew on all he experience to outlast Katarina Zavatska.
Losers:
Sumit Nagal [28] d. Edward Winter 6-3 6-2
Alex Molcan [14] d. John Millman 6-4 6-3
Shintaro Mochizuki [27] d. Tristan Schoolkate 6-2 6-4
Anna Bondár [11] d. Ivana Popovic 6-4 6-4
Brenda Fruhvirtova d. Talia Gibson 1-6 6-3 7-5
Sijia Wei d. Melisa Ercan (Walkover)
A career which he should be extremely proud of, John Millman played his final match as the former US Open quarter-finalist succumbed to a straight sets loss at the hands of 14th seed Alex Molcan.
Despite finding himself two breaks down in the second set, Millman’s commendable never-say-die attitude and commendable determination is why he is so respected amongst the tennis community.
Before that, a promising qualifying campaign ended for Ivana Popovic on Court 6. The turning point in the match was Popovic’s inability to convert four break point opportunities, including a 0-40 lead, which will be a huge disappointment for the 23-year-old.
Tristan Schoolkate and Edward Winter gave all they could on the court, but it wasn’t enough to knock off the 27th and 28th seeds of Mochizuki and Nadal respectively. Although there is ample potential for both Aussie youngsters, they will need to learn to improve their shot-selection and decision-making in the key points.
19-year-old Talia Gibson will rue her missed chance with a match point, which she was ultimately punished by a composed Fruhvirtova - who possesses the world at her feet at only 16 years of age.
In more unfortunate news, wildcard Melisa Ercan was forced to retire before her second match even began due to battling severe cramps in her first qualifying match.
The final round of qualifying gets underway tomorrow.
Round Three Matchups:
Dane Sweeny v Zizou Bergs [22] (Belgium)
Omar Jasika v Abedallah Shelbayh (Jordan)
Priscilla Hon v Maria Timofeeva (Russia)
Maya Joint v Dayana Yastremska [1] (Ukraine)
Storm Hunter v Dominika Salkova (Czech Republic)
Maddison Inglis v Daria Snigur [24] (Ukraine)
Destanee Aiava vs. Renata Zarazua [2] (Mexico)
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