Photograph: Getty Images
On day four of the French Open, three became one from an Australian singles perspective, as Jason Kubler and Ajla Tomljanovic bowed out, while Daria Saville continued her brilliant 2022 season.
[WC] Daria Saville (AUS) def [32] Petra Kvitova (CZE) 6-4, 6-2
Dasha Saville remains the last Aussie standing in singles action at Roland Garros after a dominant victory over two-time Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova.
Saville came out of the gates firing, winning eight of the first 10 points to take a 2-0 lead. The 28-year-old then held off a fightback from her Czech opponent to claim the opener 6-4, before rolling through the second set with relative ease.
The Australian now leads the head-to-head over Kvitova 4-2 and more importantly progresses to the last 32 of a major for the first time since 2018.
Saville’s successful run in Paris further builds on her remarkable 2022 season, where she has returned from Achilles surgery and 10 months away from the court.
The rejuvenated Aussie continues to fly up the WTA rankings, coming from #627 in February to a live ranking of 103.
Saville will now take on Italian Martina Trevisan in the 3rd round, where she looks to equal her best career run at a major and also move back inside the WTA top 100.
[Q] Jason Kubler (AUS) def by [10] Cam Norrie (GBR) 3-6, 4-6, 3-6
Jason Kubler’s impressive run in Paris has come to an end at the hands of Britain’s Cam Norrie, ending Australia’s singles hopes on the men’s side.
Kubler was the standout from an Aussie male perspective, being the sole man in a group of eight to claim a main draw victory, despite being the lowest ranked of the pack.
The 29-year-old displayed his ability to take it up to the best, gaining a 4-3 lead in the second set and 3-0 buffer in the third, but was ultimately unable to match Norrie’s consistency.
It was still an extremely promising week for Kubler who initially came through three tough qualifying matches before claiming just his second Grand Slam main draw win.
On the back of his four wins in Paris, Kubler will rise back inside the ATP top 150 for the first time in over three years, which will present him with more opportunities at Challenger and ATP level to push back towards the elusive top 100.
Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) def by Varvara Gracheva 4-6, 7-6(5), 5-7
Ajla Tomljanovic will undoubtedly be the most disappointed of our Aussie cohort on day four after dropping a match which was well within her capability to win.
After a massive upset over 5th seed Anett Kontaveit in the opening round, Tomljanovic faced the much lower ranked Varvara Gracheva, eyeing off her fourth career third round berth at a major.
The 29-year-old started slow, finding herself 3-0 down and quickly, a set behind. Tomljanovic then rallied to take a tight second set and extend the match into a third.
Broken at 5-5 in the decider, the Australian had a chance to force a tiebreak but was unable to do so, eventually falling in 2 hours and 41 minutes.
Unfortunately, despite her second career top 5 win, Tomljanovic’s ranking will remain relatively unchanged at No. 40, as she continues to push towards the seeding range for future Grand Slams.
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