Aussie wrap: Wildcards suffer defeats on opening day of Australian Open
It was a bad day to be an Australian on court in Melbourne, with four Australians suiting up and four Australians bundled out in the first round, including two late heartbreaks.
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Gutsy Queenslander Adam Walton has suffered a heartbreaking five-set loss to Frenchman Quentin Halys as fellow Aussie Daria Saville also stumbled after midnight in agonizing late-night results on a day of drama at Melbourne Park.
Erratic shotmaker Halys came back from two sets down to seal a thrilling five-set win after Walton looked set to become the first Aussie man to win through to the second round.
The 25-year-old went up 6-4 6-4 after he and Halys finally took to court 3 following a rain delay of almost seven hours.
And it was Halys who pulled off a comeback for the ages. The world no.71 had never before come from so far behind to win but converted when it counted, winning the only two break points he held in the match to overcome the remarkably consistent Walton and snare a 4-6 4-6 6-4 7-6 (4) 7-5 victory.
Walton was searching for a first win at Melbourne Park after losing in the first round last year in his maiden grand slam showing.
It was a similar story for Saville, who lost from a set and a break up, going down 1-6 6-4 7-5 to Russia’s Anna Blinkova, just minutes later as both Aussies stumbled after midnight in agonizing late-night results.
It's @anna_blinkova who prevails!
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 12, 2025
She beats Daria Saville 1-6 6-4 7-5 in a marathon two-and-a-half hour slugfest.@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025pic.twitter.com/ZEelBkfhrg
With Walton and Halys both ranked inside the top 100 and only separated by 20 places, the match was always expected to be tight.
Walton played the percentage game and seemed set to outlast the at-times erratic Frenchman but Halys refused to retreat from his hard-hitting strategy and it eventually paid off.
Walton seemed on track to level the scores at 5-5 in the third set when up 40-0 on his own serve but Halys needed only one break point to seal the set on the back of some audacious hitting.
He finished with 83 winners for the match, including 31 aces, a number that only just edged past the 77 unforced errors that handed Walton the advantage early on.
In a remarkably consistent display of serving, Walton, who progressed through the US College system, was broken just once in the opening four sets before handing Halys another opportunity after more than three-and-a-half hours on court.
The Frenchman took his chance again and served out the match to love, with Walton becoming the third Aussie man to go down on the opening day after wildcards Li Tu and Omar Jasika lost four setters.
All Halys Quentin ðŸ‘
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 12, 2025
The Frenchman comes back from two sets down for the first time in his career to down Adam Walton 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4), 7-5 🇫🇷@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025pic.twitter.com/CD6SizDPux
Wildcard Saville had four break-point opportunities in the second set but her inability to capitalise on those gave Blinkova a sniff and she needed just one chance to take the match to a decider.
Saville, a wildcard here given her current ranking of 112, had her chances again in the final set but it was her rival who was able to thrive in the big moments.
“It was such a tough match and she’s such a fighter,” Blinkova said.
JASIKA UNABLE TO CAPITALISE ON RAIN DELAY
Homegrown wildcard Omar Jasika survived a six-hour rain delay but couldn’t outlast French opponent Hugo Gaston despite a promising midmatch comeback.
Jasika lost the opening set 6-2 before the rain came and forced him and Gaston off court three for more than six-and-a-half hours ahead of their late-afternoon resumption.
Ranked 180 in the world, Jasika was expected to battle against Gaston, who is ranked almost 100 places higher at no. 81.
And while that looked to be the case in the opening set, he had settled before the rain set in and maintained his focus throughout the long break to level the match on resumption.
Jasika capitalised on a nervous restart from the Frenchman, who resumed serving at 40-40 in the second game of the second set and was immediately broken.
A former US Open boys champion, who won 52 matches around the world last year, mostly on the challenger series to break into the world’s top 200 for the first time last year.
He was able to dictate play in the second, continually making Gaston come forward in a move that unsettled his fellow leftie.
But the Frenchman again found his range in the third, reeling off four games in a row from 2-2 to take the upper hand.
His impressive slice and controlled drop shots continued to test Jasika’s fitness and match craft in the fourth and he was able to close out the match 6-2 despite Jasika’s efforts and the support of a parochial court 3 crowd.
The loss left Jasika with just one win at the Aussie Open, on debut in 2016 as a wildcard.
TU OVERPOWERED BY LEHECKA
Jiri Lehecka has continued his love affair with Australia, advancing through the opening round after a tough test against South Australian wildcard Li Tu.
The 24th seed, who is coming off a title win in Brisbane, breezed through the opening set in just 23 minutes, winning 6-1 with Tu looking as though he would not pose much of a challenge for the Open’s 2023 quarter-finalist.
But Adelaide product Tu fought back in the second set to level the match, doggedly holding in a lengthy service game early in the set before breaking the Czech the following game and holding on for a 6-3 win.
Tu managed 11 winners in the second, while Lehecka was uncharacteristically sloppy, finishing with 12 unforced errors.
Ranked no. 179 in the world, Tu was playing above himself in just his second Australian Open appearance, making Lehecka earn every point.
But the world no. 24, who battled injury for much of last year, regained the balance of power in the third, breaking Tu’s serve early to take what would prove to be a decisive lead on his way to a 6-3 win.
While the rain stayed away, the match was still played in oppressive conditions, with humidity above 90 per cent and both men’s condition was tested in a hard-fought fourth set, with Lehecka eventually prevailing in a tie break.
“At the Australian Open you will never find an easy round,” Lehecka said.
“I knew Li Tu would be a tough test.”
After winning his second ATP tour title in Brisbane, Lehecka is hoping he can again reach his 2023 heights at Melbourne Park, where he made the final eight before he had wins over Cameron Norrie and Felix Auger-Aliassime before falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Originally published as Aussie wrap: Wildcards suffer defeats on opening day of Australian Open
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