Aussie weekly wrap: Celebrating three title-winning runs and a 24-year first
Jacob Bradshaw was among the Australian players to post career-best results and achieve record-breaking feats this week.
Australia, 1 April 2024 | Leigh Rogers
There has been lots to celebrate in Australian tennis this week, including Jacob Bradshaw claiming his maiden professional singles title and Matt Ebden achieving a 24-year first.
Rising star Bradshaw, a 21-year-old from Queensland, made his title breakthrough at an ITF 15 tournament in Greece. His winning run included a semifinal victory against former world No.24 Martin Klizan.
Ebden made history at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami, becoming the first Australian to claim the men’s doubles title in 24 years.
The 36-year-old from Perth continued his stellar start to the season by teaming with Indian Rohan Bopanna to win his 11th career doubles crown.
Heath Davidson also enjoyed a title-winning run, triumphing at the Daegu Open in South Korea.
This is the 36-year-old’s eighth career quad singles title on the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour. It also marks Davidson’s first singles title since July 2023 and his third victory at the event, following previous success in 2017 and 2018.
This week’s most outstanding performers include:
Matt Ebden: The world No.3 won his second ATP Masters 1000 doubles title alongside Indian Rohan Bopanna in Miami (USA). They defeated four top-10 players during their title-winning run, to improve their team record this season to 14 wins from 17 matches.
> READ MORE: Ebden wins Miami Open men’s doubles title
Alex de Minaur: The 25-year-old advanced to the fourth round in singles at the Miami Open, marking his deepest run at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
Chris O’Connell: The 29-year-old enjoyed a career-best run at ATP Masters 1000 level, advancing to the fourth round in singles in Miami. O’Connell’s impressive run included a second-round victory against world No.22 Frances Tiafoe
John-Patrick Smith: The 35-year-old recorded his best result at ATP Masters 1000 level in eight years, progressing to the doubles quarterfinals in Miami alongside Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands.
Bernard Tomic: The 31-year-old scored his biggest win in more than 12 months, beating world No.146 Valentin Vacherot during his march into the singles quarterfinals at an ATP Challenger event in San Luis Potosi (Mexico).
Arina Rodionova: The 34-year-old was a singles quarterfinalist at an ITF 75 tournament in Croissy-Beaubourg (France). This was Rodionova’s second quarterfinal appearance of the season.
Destanee Aiava: The 23-year-old advanced to the singles quarterfinals at an ITF 50 tournament in Kofu (Japan). This improved Aiava’s recent record to six wins from her past nine matches.
Jacob Bradshaw: The 21-year-old won his maiden singles title at an ITF 15 tournament in Heraklion (Greece). This improves the in-form Bradshaw’s record in the past month to 11 wins from 14 matches.
Heath Davidson: The 36-year-old scooped the quad singles title at an ITF wheelchair tennis tournament in Daegu (South Korea). Davidson was also a doubles finalist alongside American David Wagner.
Lucas Han, Heaton Pann and Taiki Taikizawa: Representing Australia at the 14-and-under ITF World Junior Tennis Boys Asia-Oceania Qualifying event in Malaysia, the trio recorded a fifth-place finish.
> READ: Train with Daria Saville – “Having intentions is really important”
Find your way to play: Visit play.tennis.com.au to get out on court and have some fun!