Adrenaline-charged Alicia Molik wound back the clock to seize the limelight from great hope Samantha Stosur and teenage wonder Bernard Tomic at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
As six other Australians bombed out, Stosur and Tomic each posted watershed wins to boost local spirits before Molik electrified the crowd at Rod Laver Arena with a rousing display against Roberta Vinci.
The Italian served for the match at 5-4 in the deciding set, but Molik refused to yield and was rewarded with a 1-6 6-3 8-6 success and second-round date with Russian 13th seed Nadia Petrova.
“My fifth gear kicks in when I most need it – and I most needed it when I was 4-2 down and again in the last couple games of the match,” Molik said.
“It’s amazing what you can do when there isn’t an alternative. You have to go for it. You have to go for the lines. You have to play big shots. You have to serve big.
“I almost prefer that position.”
Molik’s epic victory evoked memories of the one-time world No.8’s charge to the 2005 Open quarter-finals just months before a rare inner ear virus sent her into premature retirement in 2008 at just 27.
“This was my old stomping ground, so I was trying to search for those memories, those great memories of four, five years ago,” Molik said.
“I dug deep.”
Stosur earlier dispatched American junior prodigy Lauren Davis 6-1 6-1 in 53 minutes.
The most lopsided victory of Stosur’s nine-year-grand slam career propelled the French Open runner-up into a second-round clash on Thursday with either Russian Vera Dushevina or Italian Maria Elena Camerin.
The fifth seed dropped only five points on serve all match.
“Very pleased to come out here and play like that in my first match,” Stosur said as she set her sights on breaking Australia’s 33-year home major title drought.
“It takes a lot to win a grand slam. Everything has to fall into place for two weeks. So it’s going to be tough, but I’m going to give it my best shot.”
Eighteen-year-old wildcard Tomic gunned down world No.44 Jeremy Chardy 6-3 6-2 7-6 (7-5) in the biggest win of his career.
The world No.199 was much too classy for his more experienced French opponent, breaking Chardy three times and not dropping his own serve once to book a showdown with Spanish No.31 seed Feliciano Lopez.
One more win would likely pit Tomic into a blockbuster third-round encounter with world No.1 Rafael Nadal.
There was no joy for the rest of Australia’s contingent on day two, with fellow wildcards Sally Peers, Sophie Ferguson, Matthew Ebden, Carsten Ball, Marinko Matosevic plus Anastasia Rodionova all perishing.
Peers fell 6-2 6-4 to Czech 25th seed Petra Kvitova, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year and the winner of the season-opening Brisbane International.
Ferguson was in tears after blowing three set points in the first-set tiebreaker of her 7-6 (8-6) 0-6 6-3 loss to Croatian qualifier Petra Martic, while Italy’s 22nd seed Flavia Pennetta hammered Rodionova 6-2 6-1.
Ebden was gallant in a 6-3 6-2 5-7 7-6 (11-9) loss to veteran American Michael Russell, Ball narrowly went down 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-4 to Spaniard Pere Riba and Lithuanian Richard Berankis eliminated Matosevic 6-4 6-2 7-5.
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