It was a trademark gutsy performance from at Melbourne Park from Ajla Tomljanovic, who when facing a deficit, put on the afterburners to advance to the second round.
This time, she came from a set down against Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva to triumph 4-6 7-6(3) 6-1 in a match that lasted two-and-a-half hours.
Locked at one-set all, Tomljanovic stood up in the crucial moments, with clean, powerful ball striking and a near-flawless first serve. The 32-year-old closed the deciding set out 6-1 to progress to the round of 64 at her home Slam for the third straight year, and the seventh time in her career.
“I’m really happy to be through. That was incredibly tough,” she said. “I feel like I had to really lift my game [from the last time they played against each other in Beijing in 2025], just fight really hard, which I did.
“I’m really relieved because I really wanted to win that one.”
The world No.78 once again played in front of a packed John Cain Arena crowd, a court assignnment the Australian No.4 relishes.
“I really am thrilled whenever I see my name on that court,” said Tomljanovic, who now has a 3-2 record on John Cain Arena. “It’s the one month where we are going to get a crowd like nowhere else.
“From the first point it was pretty packed. I’m pretty tame and don’t interact with the crowd that much. In the second set, they really helped me out. I knew if I snagged the second set, I could get them involved a bit. They loved that.”
Five days on from retiring from her second-round match in Adelaide against Maya Joint due to a pectoral injury, Tomljanovic feels that her injury was manageable during Monday's match.
“Luckily with my groundstrokes, it didn’t bother me right away. I was a bit nervous about my serving,” she said. “I probably wasn’t going at my usual pace today, but it was still fast enough to make it competitive.
“I really don’t know exactly what happened in Adelaide. It happened, but I took great care of it … I’ll see how I pull up tomorrow, but I’m confident.”
For the first time since Australian Open 1992, there will be five or more Australian women through to the second round of a major. Tomljanovic joins Storm Hunter, Priscilla Hon, and Talia Gibson, as well as the winner of Kimberly Birrell and Maddison Inglis who are scheduled to play on Tuesday night.
> MORE: Hunter's heartwarming run continues
Aussies in action – Australian Open 2026
DAY 2 RESULTS
Women’s singles – first round
Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) d [Q] Yuliia Starodubtseva (UKR) 4-6 7-6(3) 6-1
[Q] Storm Hunter (AUS) d Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (ESP) 6-4 6-4
[WC] Priscilla Hon (AUS) d [Q] Marina Stakusic (CAN) 1-6 6-4 5-3 RET
[17] Victoria Mboko (CAN) d [WC] Emerson Jones (AUS) 6-4 6-1
Men’s singles – first round
[6] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d [LL] Mackenzie McDonald (USA) 6-2 6-2 6-3
[WC] Jordan Thompson (AUS) d Juan Manuel Cerundolo (ARG) 6-7(3) 7-5 6-1 6-1
[WC] Rinky Hijikata (AUS) d Adrian Mannarino (FRA) 6-3 6-3 6-1
Thiago Agustin Tirante (ARG) d Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) 7-5 6-2 6-2
Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v Alexandre Muller (FRA) – IN PROGRESS
COMING UP
Women’s singles – first round
[30] Maya Joint (AUS) v Tereza Valentova (CZE) – First match, John Cain Arena
[WC] Taylah Preston (AUS) v Zhang Shuai (CHN) – First match, Kia Arena
[Q] Maddison Inglis (AUS) v Kimberly Birrell (AUS) – Fourth match, John Cain Arena
Daria Kasatkina (AUS) v [Q] Nikola Bartunkova (CZE) – Fourth match, ANZ Arena
Men’s singles – first round
[WC] Christopher O’Connell (AUS) v [Q] Nishesh Basavareddy (USA) – Second match, ANZ Arena
[Q] Dane Sweeny (AUS) v Gael Monfils (FRA) – Third match, Kia Arena
[WC] James Duckworth (AUS) v [LL] Dino Prizmic (CRO) – Third match, Court 6
Women’s singles – second round
[Q] Storm Hunter (AUS) v Hailey Baptiste (USA)
[WC] Priscilla Hon (AUS) v [29] Iva Jovic (USA)
[WC] Talia Gibson (AUS) v [23] Diana Shnaider
Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) v Elena-Gabriela Ruse (ROU)
Men’s singles – second round
[6] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Hamad Medjedovic (SRB)
[WC] Jordan Thompson (AUS) v Nuno Borges (POR)
[WC] Rinky Hijikata (AUS) v [30] Valentin Vacherot (MON)