With breakthrough results and big wins, Ajla Tomljanovic, Rinky Hijikata and Jordan Thompson all starred at grass-court events this week.
London, Great Britain, 24 June 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Several Australian players achieved stunning new grass-court highs this week.
A resurgent Ajla Tomljanovic charged into her first WTA grass-court final at a tournament in Birmingham, while Jordan Thompson and Rinky Hijikata produced career-best runs of their own at an ATP 500 tournament at the prestigious Queen’s Club in London.
Several others, including James Duckworth, Kimberly Birrell and Daria Saville, recorded impressive wins against higher-ranked opponents.
Australian players shone brightly on different surfaces too. Matthew Romios captured a clay-court doubles title, while Melisa Ercan and Joshua Charlton triumphed at hard-court events.
This week’s most outstanding performers include:
Jordan Thompson: The 30-year-old went on a giant-killing run at an ATP 500 tournament at London’s Queen’s Club (Great Britain), eliminating world No.15 Holger Rune, world No.12 Taylor Fritz and former world No.1 Andy Murray to reach the semifinals. This was Thompson’s deepest ever run at ATP 500 level.
Rinky Hijikata: The 23-year-old advanced to his first singles quarterfinal at ATP 500 level, beating three higher-ranked opponents as a qualifier at Queen’s Club. Hijikata’s career-best run included two wins against top-35 players.
Matt Ebden: The 36-year-old was a doubles quarterfinalist at the ATP 500 tournament at Queen’s Club with Indian partner Rohan Bopanna. This was the combination’s sixth quarterfinal appearance this season.
> READ: Ebden reflects on his comfort on grass
James Duckworth: The 32-year-old scored two top-100 wins to qualify, then reached the second round at an ATP 500 tournament in Halle (Germany). The in-form Duckworth has won eight of his 11 grass-court matches this month.
Ajla Tomljanovic: The 31-year-old scored four top-60 wins to finish runners-up in singles at a WTA 250 tournament in Birmingham (Great Britain). This was Tomljanovic’s fifth career WTA singles final appearance and her first since February 2019.
> READ: Tomljanovic awarded Wimbledon wildcard following Birmingham run
Daria Saville: The 30-year-old continued her promising grass-court form, beating world No.66 Cristina Busca to qualify at the WTA 250 tournament in Nottingham.
Matthew Romios: The 25-year-old clinched the double title at an ATP Challenger tournament in Sassuolo (Italy) alongside Italian Marco Bortolotti. This is Romios’ 13th career doubles title and his fourth at ATP Challenger level.
Kimberly Birrell: The 26-year-old was a singles semifinalist at an ITF 100 tournament in Ilkley (Great Britain). The in-form Birrell has won 11 of her 14 grass-court matches this month, which includes two top-100 victories.
Seone Mendez: The 25-year-old progressed to the singles semifinals at an ITF 50 tournament in Ystad (Sweden). This was Mendez’s deepest singles run since August 2023.
Melisa Ercan: The 18-year-old captured the singles title at an ITF 35 tournament in Tauste (Spain). This is Ercan’s fifth career ITF singles title and her first since August 2023.
Alana Parnaby: The 29-year-old teamed with Mexico’s Victoria Rodriguez to finish runners-up in doubles at the ITF 35 tournament in Tauste. This was Parnaby’s fourth ITF doubles final appearance of the season, all of which have been with different partners.
Lizette Cabrera: The 26-year-old made the singles semifinals at an ITF 35 tournament in Taipei (Chinese Taipei). This was Cabrera’s first singles semifinal appearance since October 2023. Cabrera also advanced to the doubles semifinals alongside compatriot Gabriella Da Silva Fick.
Bernard Tomic: The 31-year-old was a singles finalist at an ITF 25 tournament in Tulsa (USA). This was Tomic’s 21st career singles final appearance and his third this season.
Edward Winter: The 19-year-old was a singles semifinalist at an ITF 25 tournament in Changwon (Korea). The promising Winter has scored nine wins from his 11 singles matches in the past three weeks.
Joshua Charlton: The 24-year-old teamed with American Patrick Maloney to claim the doubles title at an ITF 15 tournament in Rancho Santa Fe (USA). This is Charlton’s fourth career ITF doubles title, all of which have been won in the opening six months of 2024. His season record now stands at 21 wins from his 26 doubles matches.
Jake Delaney: The 27-year-old was a singles finalist at an ITF 15 tournament in Hong Kong. This was Delaney’s fourth career ITF singles final appearance and his second this month. The in-form Delaney also progressed to the doubles semifinals alongside his 25-year-old brother, Jesse Delaney.
Lily Fairclough: The 18-year-old advanced to the singles semifinals at an ITF 15 tournament in Rancho Sante Fe (USA). This was Fairclough’s best tour-level result since July 2022.
Ty Host: The 17-year-old was a boys’ doubles finalist at an ITF J200 tournament in Veracruz (Mexico) with New Zealand’s Harry Pugh. It was the pair’s second consecutive doubles finals appearance on the ITF junior tour.
Koharu Nishikawa: The 15-year-old scooped the girls’ singles title at an ITF J100 tournament in The Hague (Netherlands). Nishikawa defeated three seeded opponents to capture her first ITF junior singles crown.
> READ: Koharu Nishikawa – A rising star of Australian tennis
Jerome Estephan and Daniel Jovanovski: The Aussie pair were doubles finalists at an ITF J100 tournament in The Hague (Netherlands). This was 17-year-old Estephan’s third doubles final of the season and 16-year-old Jovanovski’s second.
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