Olivia Gadecki has booked a return to the Brisbane International main draw after rebounding to deny second seed Yulia Putintseva in the final round of qualifying on Saturday.
At her home tournament, the Queenslander battled for two hours and 15 minutes to claim a 1-6 7-5 6-1 win against the former world No.20 and earn entry into the Brisbane main draw for a second time.
It boosts the Australian women’s contingent in Brisbane expand to six representatives, with Gadecki joining Daria Kastatkina, Ajla Tomljanovic, Kimberly Birrell, Emerson Jones and Talia Gibson at the WTA 500 tournament.
Alexei Popyrin and Adam Walton lead the four Australian men competing in the ATP 250 main draw.
While fellow Australian, Taylah Prestoh, fell to China’s Shuai Zhang in three sets in the final round of women’s qualifying, several Australians made successful starts in the men’s qualifying tournament.
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Chris O’Connell navigated past Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets and set all-Aussie encounter with Dane Sweeny, who was a straight-sets winner over Jacob Fearnley.
James Duckworth successfully launched his qualifying campaign with a 6-3 6-2 win over countryman Tristan Schoolkate. Following his victory at the Sydney Challenger in November and a semifinal run in Playford, it marked Duckworth’s ninth win from his past 10 matches.
Eyeing a chance to replicate an inspired run as a Brisbane quarterfinalist in 2024, Rinky Hijikata was a straight-sets winner over Austria’s Filip Misolic.
Younger countryman Cruz Hewitt provided Kamil Majchrzak with a test before the experienced Pole claimed a 6-4 7-5 victory.
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Other Australian players had earlier earned their first-round opponents in the main draw, following the official draw at the Queensland Tennis Centre.
Three of the eight Australians in action will face qualifiers, with every local competitor avoiding seeded opponents at their home tournament.
Aussies at Brisbane
Women's singles, first round
- Daria Kastakina (No. 37) v Anastasia Potapova (AUT, No.50)
- Ajla Tomljanovic (No.80) v Elsa Jacquemot (FRA, No.55)
- Kim Birrell (No.98) v qualifier
- Emerson Jones (No.151) v Tatjana Maria (GER, No.45)
- Talia Gibson (No.122) v Dayana Yastremska (UKR, No.27)
- Olivia Gadecki (No.202) v TBC
Men's singles first round
- Alexei Popyrin (No.53) v qualifier
- Adam Walton (No.78) v qualifier
- Aleksander Vukic (No.84) v Frances Tiafoe (USA, No.30)
- Nick Kyrgios (No.671) v Aleksandar Kovacevic (USA, No.60)