The 2023 Australian Open tennis tournament is underway, with 11 Aussie men and five women to compete at Melbourne Park over the next fortnight.
Australians in action
With results and recaps to come.
Olivia Gadecki (AUS) def. Polina Kudermetova
7-5, 6-1
It was a dream Australian Open main draw debut for Gadecki, who was in fine form in her first-round win over qualifier Polina Kudermetova, 7-5, 6-1.
Gadecki is being mentored by last year’s women’s winner and compatriot Ash Barty, and the collaboration seems to be working. Gadecki’s powerful backhands were too strong for Kudermetova, who after putting up a fight in the first set, was no match in the second.
“I’m speechless … It was such an amazing crowd, my first ever Grand Slam main draw win, a girl can only dream,” Gadecki told the Nine Network following the win.
Gadecki is no stranger to the big stage, having defeated 2019 Aus Open champion Sofia Kenin in 2021 as a teenager, but she’ll need to be on her game going forward; she’ll face Marta Kostyuk of Ukaraine who was equally impressive in her upset win of 28th seed Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-4.
Talia Gibson (AUS) def. by Clara Burel
6-3, 6-4
It wasn’t to be for 18-year-old wildcard Gibson, who battled strongly for an hour and 19 minutes in front of a noise crowd on Court 3. She was defeated by French qualifier Clara Burel in straight sets.
Jason Kubler (AUS) def. Sebastian Baez
6-4, 6-4, 6-4
It was a massive first Australian Open main draw win for Kubler over the Argentine, Baez. Already boasting two wins in 2023 over top 40 opponents, the 84th ranked Kubler was too strong for Baez (ranked 44 in the world), winning in straight sets.
Kubler has struggled with injury concerns, mainly to do with his knees, throughout his career, but after a breakthrough run to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2022 and a positive start to 2023, the 29-year-old is confident he can keep his form up.
“I’m very happy that I’ve done 18 months injury free, so I hope I can continue that,” he said post-match. “For this tournament? I’m just happy to go out there and play my best.”
John Millman (AUS) def. Marc-Andrea Huesler
6-7(8), 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-3
It was a typically Millman-like outing for the Queenslander on Court three. Five sets, four hours, but he was on the end of a rare five-set win, only losing sets to Huesler in tiebreaks.
In fact, Millman had the chance to sew up the first set with ease; he led 5-0 in the first-set breaker before his Swiss opponent rallied to take the set. But Millman, spurred on by a raucous crowd on Court 3, was never shut out of the match, and his class came to the fore in the fourth and fifth sets in which he secured breaks to wrap up a famous victory.
Rinky Hijikata (AUS) def. Yannick Hanfmann
4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3
In his Australian Open main draw debut, Rinky Hijikata has given the Court 8 crowd the ride of its life, winning a five-set epic over Yannick Hanfmann after going two sets to love down.
Hijikata battled back into the contest, taking the third set and then the fourth in a hard-fought 70-minute tiebreaker, before securing the all-important break midway through the fifth.
From there, a rowdy crowd helped the Aussie home 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3, in what is the 21-year-old’s biggest win to date.
Storm Hunter (AUS) def. by Xinyu Wang
7-6(2), 6-4
It wasn’t to be for Hunter, who, despite being able to break her Chinese opponent twice in the opening set, was unable to capitalise, going down in straight sets on Court 3.