Melbourne, Australia , 13 January 2025 | Jackson Mansell

Ajla Tomljanovic has advanced to the second round of Australian Open 2025 after recording her biggest win in seven months.

Tomljanovic defeated world No.52 Ashlyn Krueger 6-4 4-6 6-4 in two hours and 22 minutes – the highest-ranked opponent she has ousted since world No.36 Anastasia Potapova at the Rothesay Classic semifinal in Birmingham last June.

The world No.114 avenged last week’s loss to the American in Adelaide International qualifying, where she fell in straight sets.

“Having lost to her last week, it felt sweet to play her again and get another chance,” Tomljanovic said. “I didn’t want to go 0-2 against a good player like her, but still, I don’t like seeing a big gap when I play certain players.”

She was the second Australian woman to advance at her home Grand Slam on Monday, with Talia Gibson recording a comeback victory over Zeynep Sonmez. 

Tomljanovic started emphatically as she broke Krueger in her first two service games. Despite breaking back, Krueger’s 20 unforced errors to nine helped the Aussie claim the first set 6-4.

Although the American tripled Tomljanovic’s unforced errors in the second set, she steadied to send the match into a deciding set. Four double faults from the Australian No.4 proved fatal as Tomljanovic aimed to score her first win since October.

When the Australian broke in an 11-minute first game of set three, it helped mould a monumental victory for the former world No.32. A swift 4-0 lead gave Tomljanovic enough breathing room to reach the second round at Melbourne Park for the sixth time.

“I felt like in the second set in the 4-3 game I kind of stopped going for it. I think when you are matching up against someone like her if you give her the edge, it’s going to be really tough for me to win,” she said on how she adjusted after losing the second set.

“I just went into that third set thinking, ‘Okay, I lost playing the wrong way, which is being a bit more defensive, so I have to be the one dictating’.

“I kind of like when I’m able to sit on the bench and have a few minutes. She took a bathroom break, so I had a bit more time to really think about what went wrong and know that it’s really crucial to make those adjustments early on in the third set.”

She will play 12th seed Diana Shnaider in the next round as she aims to reach the third round for the first time.

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