Eastbourne, UK, 25 June 2025 | AAP

Kimberly Birrell has upset Australian Open 2020 champion Sofia Kenin at the WTA event in Eastbourne as fellow Australian Maya Joint prepares to face Emma Raducanu.

Birrell, 27, the world No.77, bounced back from a first-round exit at Nottingham last week to oust Kenin, the No.4 seed, 6-4 6-4 in the pre-Wimbledon tournament.

It provides more encouragement for Gold Coast resident Birrell, who has reached the quarterfinals in Singapore and Brisbane, along with ventures to the second round at Miami and Rosmalen so far this year.

Another Australian, Maya Joint, who eliminated two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur in the first round on Monday, has discovered her reward will be a clash with Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion.

The British No.1, seeded seventh in Eastbourne, had to recover from the loss of the first set, while dealing with blustery conditions and a back problem, on the way to a 6-7(5) 6-3 6-1 win over American Ann Li.

Raducanu has been troubled by her back since competing in Strasbourg before Roland Garros and took an off-court medical timeout during her quarterfinal loss at Queen’s Club earlier this month.

In an all-Australian clash at Eastbourne at the concurrent ATP event, James Duckworth battled past Aleksandar Vukic 6-3 6-7(5) 6-1.

It marked a third straight win on the English south coast for Duckworth, who came through two rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw.

He next faces No.6 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a place in the quarterfinals.

There was another all-Aussie clash at the ATP grasscourt in Mallorca, one which saw Bernard Tomic upset Rinky Hijikata.

Tomic, aged 32, clinched his first tour-level win since 2021 as he continues his quiet revival.

The former world No.17 – a rankings high he achieved almost 10 years ago – recovered from a set and a break down against Hijikata, who served for the match when leading 5-4 in the second set.

Tomic rebounded to win 3-6 7-5 6-2, his first victory in a tour-level main draw since Australian Open 2021, and first in a completed match since July 2019, when he beat Matt Ebden to reach the ATP Atlanta quarterfinals.

Like Duckworth, Tomic is on a three-match winning streak at the tournament after navigating the qualifying rounds, and has set up a second-round meeting with No.7 seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

The world No.24 narrowly missed the cut-off for Wimbledon qualifying and decided not to hang around in the hope of a late withdrawal in London.

Instead he packed his bags and headed to the Spanish island of Mallorca, home of 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, and what he hoped would be another step on the long road back.

Over the weekend he defeated Jasper De Jong, a Dutchman ranked 93rd who recently won a round at Roland Garros, and Aleksandar Kovacevic, an American who sits at world No.77, to qualify for the main draw,

Far from the big stages of sport, Tomic has been slogging it out in ITF Futures and ATP Challenger events in an attempt to break back into the top 100.

His defeat of Hijikata, who has already qualified for the main draw at Wimbledon, boosts his ATP live ranking to 213th.

Should he maintain this position, it would put him in the frame to play in US Open qualifying in New York in late August.