Hamburg, Germany , 25 July 2023 | Leigh Rogers

Hamburg, Germany

Storm Hunter has scored one of the biggest singles wins of her career at a WTA 250 tournament in Hamburg.

The 28-year-old Australian recorded a 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory against world No.22 Donna Vekic in the opening round.

It is world No.154 Hunter’s fourth career top-50 win and her first ever recorded on clay.

Hunter finished their one-hour and 54-minute encounter strongly, conceding only two points on serve in the deciding set.

The top-seeded Vekic, who helped Croatia clinch the Hopman Cup in France last week, is the highest-ranked opponent that Hunter has defeated since beating her current doubles partner Elise Mertens at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November 2021.

Daria Saville has continued her winning form too, eliminating fourth-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini in the opening round.

It is Saville’s third consecutive win after navigating her way through qualifying.

World No.47 Paolini was a finalist at a WTA 250 tournament in Palermo last week, but fell to Saville in straight sets.

This is 29-year-old Saville’s first top-50 victory in her comeback from knee surgery.

Aussies in action – Hamburg

RESULTS
Women’s singles, first round
Storm Hunter (AUS) d [1] Donna Vekic (CRO) 3-6 6-3 6-3
[Q] Daria Saville (AUS) d [4] Jasmine Paolini (ITA) 6-0 7-6(3)

Women’s doubles, first round
Angela Kulikov (USA)/Miriam Kolodziejova (CZE) d Astra Sharma (AUS)/Jessie Aney (USA) 6-3 6-4

COMING UP
Women’s singles, second round
Storm Hunter (AUS) v [WC] Noma Noha Akugue (GER)
[Q] Daria Saville (AUS) v Tamara Korpatsch (GER)

Atlanta, USA

Australian contenders Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson have bowed out in singles at an ATP 250 tournament in Atlanta.

Purcell lost to American contender Brandon Nakashima in the opening round, while Thompson was edged out in two tiebreaks by Japan’s Kei Nishikori.

Nishikori, a former world No.4 who has slipped to world No.439 after a horror run with injuries, is contesting his first tour-level tournament since October 2021.

However, Purcell and Thompson bounced back strongly in doubles action, upsetting the top seeds later in the day.

The Aussie duo recorded a 6-4 6-2 victory against world No.30 Jamie Murray and world No.22 Michael Venus to move into the quarterfinals.

Aussies in action – Atlanta

RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
Brandon Nakashima (USA) d Max Purcell (AUS) 6-3 7-6(5)
Kei Nishikori (JPN) d Jordan Thompson (AUS) 7-6(5) 7-6(5)

Men’s doubles, first round
Max Purcell (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) d [1] Jamie Murray (GBR)/Michael Venus (NZL) 6-4 6-2
[WC] Trent Bryde (USA)/Ethan Quinn (USA) d [Alt] Andrew Harris (AUS)/Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) 6-4 7-5

COMING UP
Men’s singles, second round
Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) v [4] Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN)
Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) v [2] Alex de Minaur (AUS)

Men’s doubles, first round
John-Patrick Smith (AUS)/Dan Evans (GBR) v William Blumberg (USA)/Rajeev Ram (USA)

Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
Max Purcell (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) v [WC] Trent Bryde (USA)/Ethan Quinn (USA) 
John Peers (AUS)/Marcelo Melo (BRA) v TBC

Umag, Croatia

Hungarian Zsombor Piros has beaten Australian hope Chris O’Connell in the opening round at a ATP 250 tournament in Umag.

The world No.124 did not lose serve in a 6-3 6-4 victory against the fifth-seeded O’Connell.

This leaves Alexei Popyrin as the last remaining Aussie at the clay-court event.

Aussies in action – Umag

RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
Zsombor Piros (HUN) d [5] Christopher O’Connell (AUS) 6-3 6-4

COMING UP
Men’s singles, second round
Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v [3] Sebastian Ofner (AUT)

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