Comeback stars Ajla Tomljanovic and Daria Saville have roared into the US Open second round to set up a pair of show-court show-stoppers in New York while Rinky Hijikata also progressed.
Playing her first match of the year after undergoing knee surgery in January, Tomljanovic shook off some rust in an emotion-charged 3-6 6-2 6-4 win over dogged Hungarian baseliner Panna Udvardy.
Tomljanovic looked almost in a state of disbelief after securing victory after one hour 53 minutes, shaking her head and repeatedly asking her courtside entourage “how, how, how?”.
“In a way I feel like I have no business being in the second round. This was just a huge test for me,” she said.
“I know it might sound weird but I played the best I could – or more. I did more than I thought I could and barely got over the line. That tells you something.
“I tapped into my competitiveness, that felt like it
The win earned the 2022 quarter-finalist an exciting rematch with fourth-seeded Australian Open runner-up Elena Rybakina on Thursday (AEST).
Rybakina denied Tomljanovic in a pulsating three-set Wimbledon quarter-final last year before going on to claim her maiden grand slam trophy at the All England Club.
The Kazakh has kicked on in 2023 to emerge as one of the dominant forces in women’s tennis.
Daria Saville returns a shot against Clervie Ngounoue. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
For Tomljanovic, it’s been a season of despair until Tuesday.
On the cusp of being seeded for the first time at a grand slam, the 29-year-old was forced to withdraw from her home major on the eve of the tournament. She also sat out the French Open and Wimbledon and watched her ranking tumble to No.127 in the world.
“I’m on a high emotionally but I am very realistic about where my knee and body is at,” Tomljanovic said.
“I am very realistic that I still need time, but I would be stupid to be complaining being here in the second round. It just felt like that reward after so many months of just torture.”
Saville is also in the infancy of her return from a torn ACL but made a flying start to her Open campaign to set up a second-round clash with world No.1 and defending champion Iga Swiatek.
Saville looked anything but a player on the comeback trail from a serious knee injury as she routed American teenager Clervie Ngounoue 6-0 6-2 in little more than an hour.
Saville broke the 17-year-old seven times, never faced a single break point on her own serve and finished with 16 winners and just 13 unforced errors for the match.
“I was very composed,” Saville said after notching her first win at Flushing Meadows in five years.
“When the day started I was pretty relaxed. I don’t know why – it doesn’t really happen on day one of a grand slam.
“Warming up before the match I was like ‘umm, this feels like just a normal match’ and that felt nice and I think that is why I played well.”
Rinky Hijikata also progressed in vastly different fashion on a promising opening day for the Australian contingent.
Hijikata vindicated his wildcard entry with a 7-5 5-7 6-3 7-5 victory over Russian Pavel Kotov in a sapping contest stretching a minute shy of four hours.
The hard-earned victory was the 22-year-old’s first at a grand slam outside of Australia.
While Tomljanovic, Saville and Hijikata rolled on, fellow Australians Alexei Popyrin, Kim Birrell, Olivia Gadecki and wildcard Storm Hunter all bowed out in the first round.
Birrell, a qualifying lucky loser, battled hard in a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) loss to 2021 Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady, while Hunter succumbed 6-4 6-0 to Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova, the 2023 French Open runner-up.
Gadecki let a set-and-a-break lead slip in a dispiriting 1-6 6-3 6-4 loss to 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva and Popyrin crashed to a 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-3 defeat to Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker.
World No.13 Alex de Minaur, along with Max Purcell, Chris O’Connell, Aleksandar Vukic, Jordan Thompson, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Jason Kubler and qualifying lucky loser James Duckworth all play first-round matches on day two.
There was an early upset on day one at Flushing Meadows with eighth seed Maria Sakkari from Greece bowing out 6-4 6-4 to Spanish world No. 71 Rebeka Masarova.
Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka downed Fiona Ferro of France 6-1 6-2 for her 15th first-round win at Flushing Meadows.
Swiss 15th seed Belinda Bencic put out Kamilla Rahkimova from Russia 6-2 6-4 to advance to the second round.
Fourth seed Holger Rune was left to regret tweeting a map of the US Open site to point spectators towards his first-round match.
The Dane now needs directions to the exit after crashing out in four sets to Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena, ranked 63rd.
Rune was clearly miffed at being shunted away on one of Flushing Meadows’ tiny outside courts and sarcastically wrote “in case you can find Court 5, this is where I play my first match Monday”.
The court is crammed in between the Arthur Ashe and Grandstand Stadiums, with pathways on either side where spectators can wander past.
And Rune’s cheeky tweet backfired as hundreds swarmed around the court, craning their necks and standing on benches, to see the 20-year-old slip to defeat.
To rub salt in the wound, Rune even complained to the umpire about one noisy fan before eventually going down 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-2.
Also on Monday, Dominic Thiem picked up his first win at Flushing Meadows since he won the title in 2020.
The 29-year-old Austrian, a former world No.3 who is working his way back up the rankings after a long spell out injured, beat 25th seed Alexander Bublik 6-3 6-2 6-4.
© AAP
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