'Just the beginning': Dane Sweeny back from the abyss

(Getty/Paul Crock)

Less than a year ago, he was in tennis' abyss and barely ranked inside the world's top 700 players. On Tuesday, Dane Sweeny defeated Frenchman Gaël Monfils for his first-ever Grand Slam win and set up a second-round date with Ben Shelton.   

Playing in front of a boisterous Kia Arena, with Australians and French fans seemingly present in equal numbers, Sweeney outplayed and outlasted a tiring Monfils 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 in three hours and 51 minutes. 

"I feel like I'm watching a show right now, it feels unbelievable to be in this position," Sweeney said to the crowd post-match. 

The First Serve Live returns on Monday February 2nd at 8pm AEDT for its 18th year on the SEN Network/App, Australia's only dedicated weekly tennis program on commercial radio running through till the end of November.

It's easy to believe him, too. Despite qualifying for the 2024 Australian Open, the Australian fell from No.194 in the world to No.680 in the 12 months leading up to February 2025, after a horror run of form culminating in an indefinite, although ultimately brief, break from the tour. 

Without any other option, when Sweeny did return to the tour, he was forced to rebuild his ranking on the ITF Futures circuit, the lowest level of professional tennis.

What followed was a lot of sacrifice, doubt, tears, and, eventually, winning. 

It took a few months to get going, but the man who once set up a GoFundMe for his tennis journey went on to win eight titles from June onwards, earned his way into qualifying last week, and then secured a date with Monfils.  

Winning has become a habit, but it must've felt a long way from the desolate ITF Futures circuit for Sweeny, who was seen smiling to chants of "Sweeny, Sweeny, Sweeny" as he stood in the players' race waiting to walk out.  

"It was almost overwhelming at the start, the atmosphere, it was incredible," he later told the press.

"From the get-go, I felt a lot of gratitude to be lucky enough to be in this position.

"Yes, there were nerves, but a lot of gratitude and excitement at the moment."

Serving first, Sweeny kept his nose in front during the first set, playing bold tennis to stay with the showman, Monfils, who had the better of the opportunities on return but was unable to convert any of his five break points. 

As the pair traded service games, the French and Australian fans traded barbs as Kia Arena began to feel like a home Davis Cup tie from an era now gone. 

Taking each other to a tiebreak, Monfils' class and experience showed as he seized the set 7-6(3) with a trademark leapfrog smash to set up set point.  

Though he hadn't won the 64-minute set, Sweeny's investment in chasing down every ball, extending rallies, and moving Monfils across the baseline in the Melbourne sun would soon pay dividends. Sweeny had let his opponent know he wasn't going anywhere and simultaneously depleted Monfils' reserves. 

Unable to find free points off his still booming serve at 5-3 in the second, Monfils missed his opportunity to put Sweeny away when the Aussie battler saved a set point and set up a break point of his own with two crunching forehand winners. The following point, Monfils missed a backhand, and Sweeney was officially back in the match. 

A blink of an eye later, and Sweeny took the set 7-5 and quickly led the third 3-1.  

Monfils was slowing, taking longer between points, and visibly knackered.  The Frenchman's 39-year-old legs couldn't keep up with Australia's road runner.  

Stepping up to serve at 3-5 after failing to break in the seventh game, Monfils threw the playbook out the window. Building points was no longer an option for the man in his 22nd year on tour; it was now time for all-out attack.  

Bomb the serve, smack the forehand, and hope it doesn't come back. It was briefly effective, but the Australian closed out the set 6-4. 

Although not impossible, a Monfils comeback from two sets to one down certainly looked improbable.  

In fact, it started to feel like a de Minuar or Hewitt match for Sweeny. Not in the sense that Sweeny was playing top 10 tennis, but in the sense that you knew his opponent couldn't outlast him.  

Finishing the match with a forehand down the line winner, Sweeny dropped to the ground as his players' box rose to their feet in adulation.   

Asked whether he could imagine this moment a year ago, Sweeney said it's all he could do. 

"I could imagine it. But it was more like a dream," he joked. 

"I knew deep down I could do this if I put my head down, but I was questioning things a lot back then. 

"I questioned my game, I questioned my identity on the court, I questioned whether tennis is something I should keep doing. But I knew I could do it if I kept going. This is just the beginning."

For his customary and celebratory signing of the broadcast camera lens, Sweeny wrote "this too shall pass".  

A full circle moment for a full circle 12 months.  

The journey couldn't have been made possible without the loving support of his family, who have made tremendous sacrifices to help the Sydneysider get into this position.

[My parents have] never been poor, but not ever been super well-off, so they've had to financially sacrifice a lot and emotionally sacrifice a lot," said Sweeny

"But without a doubt, my parents have sacrificed a lot. And my dad stopped his cleaning business, sold that, so he can afford to travel with me."

For Monfils, the loss represents his last at the Australian Open, having started his journey at Melbourne Park when the courts were green. 

"Thank you so much. For me, my journey started in 2003 here with you guys. I came here for first time," he said post-match. 

"Now we are in 2026, and it's the finish line. Thank you so much for an amazing ride. You guys have been unbelievable."

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