The Aussies are coming in hot at the Miami Open, with four Australians progressing through qualifying to join five compatriots in the main draw.
Top-seeded Australian woman Kimberly Birrell swept through Miami Open qualifying, defeating China’s Yuan Yue-2 2-6 6-4 in the final round to earn main-draw entry for the second straight year.
Birrell was in fine form in Miami on Tuesday as five aces across three sets gave her a healthy buffer against Yuan. She won 70 per cent of first-serve points, all while maintaining control from the baseline. Birrell now leads Yuan 2-1 in their head-to-head record .
The 27-year-old arrived in Miami having reached the semifinals of the WTA 125 event in Austin last week. Prior to that, the Aussie advanced to the second round of the Indian Wells main draw, where she was stopped by top-10 Canadian teen Victoria Mboko.
Birrell – who at world No.70 is edging closer to the peak No.60 ranking she achieved in May last year – joins the five Australians who have already confirmed their place in the Miami 1000 tournament: Alex de Minaur, Alexei Popyrin, James Duckworth, Ajla Tomljanovic and wildcard recipient Emerson Jones.
The fast-rising Talia Gibson also secured a place in the main draw of the WTA 1000 tournament.
Prior to Miami qualifying , a dream Indian Wells run saw Gibson defeat not one, but four top-50 opponents – including world No.7 Jasmine Paolini – to reach the quarterfinals.
The fairytale result saw the 21-year-old rise a meteoric 44 places in the WTA singles rankings, from No.112 to No.68, emphatically achieving her dream to crack the world’s top 100.
She arrived in Miami riding a wave of confidence after this breakthrough performance.
In the final round of qualifying, Gibson came out on top in straight sets against Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova in just over an hour and a half. Gibson’s composed yet aggressive style of play manifested in a top service display, with eight aces and 74.3 per cent of first-serve points won.
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An all-Australian clash in men’s qualifying saw Adam Walton and Rinky Hijikata battling for a main-draw ticket over three sets before Walton clinched the 6-3 6-7(2) 6-1 victory.
After dropping the second set, when Hijikata craftily claimed a tight second-set tiebreak, Walton regrouped to close out the decider and claim victory in just under two-and-a-half hours.
O’Connell also progressed to the Miami main draw after eliminating ninth seed Alexander Blockx 4-6 6-4 6-4.
After dropping the opening set, the more experienced Australian increased his intensity to claim the second, before sealing the decider for a resilient comeback victory.
O’Connell will bring experience from previous ATP Masters 1000 campaigns, including Miami two years ago when he upset then-world No.22 Frances Tiafoe on the way to the fourth round.
Tomljanovic, meanwhile, is already through to the second round of the main draw after notching a first-round win against Simona Waltert in straight sets. It sets up a second-round meeting with No.6 seed Amanda Anisimova.
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