Paris, France, 24 September 2020 | Leigh Rogers

Australians Marc Polmans and Aleksandar Vukic are through to the final round of Roland Garros qualifying.

The No.12-seeded Polmans advanced with a 5-7 6-4 6-3 win over Italian Alessandro Giannessi, while Vukic eliminated 29th-seeded Indian Prajnesh Gunneswaran 6-4 7-6(4).

This is a career-best result in Paris for the No.122-ranked Polmans, who had never previously progressed beyond the second round of qualifying. The 23-year-old from Melbourne is looking to qualify for a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

Polmans hit 35 winners to snap a two-match losing streak against the No.171-ranked Giannessi, recording victory in two hours and 47 minutes. It sets up a third-round battle with Brit Liam Broady.

Vukic continued his impressive Roland Garros debut, firing 19 aces to overpower the more experienced Gunneswaran in 90 minutes.

The 24-year-old from Sydney is contesting only the third Grand Slam tournament of his career. He also made the final round of Australian Open qualifying earlier this year.

To earn a main draw debut, the No.190-ranked Vukic will need to beat No.15 seed Jason Jung of Chinese Taipei.

It was a good day for Australians in Paris, with Astra Sharma and Arina Rodionova both winning their opening round matches in women’s qualifying.

However, Max Purcell’s Roland Garros debut ended with a second-round loss against Aslan Karatsev. The seventh-seeded Russian prevailed 6-4 6-1.

ROLAND GARROS
Aussies in action, qualifying day three results:

Men’s singles, second round
[12] Marc Polmans (AUS) d Alessandro Giannessi (ITA) 5-7 6-4 6-3
Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) d [29] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) 6-4 7-6(3)
[7] Aslan Karatsev (RUS) d Max Purcell (AUS) 6-4 6-1

Women’s singles, first round
[9] Astra Sharma (AUS) d [WC] Irina Ramialison (FRA) 6-4 6-4
Arina Rodionova (AUS) d Samantha Murray Sharan (GBR) 6-3 7-6(1)