Australian Open: Dream comes true for wildcard Kimberly Birrell

Kimberly Birrell needed her weapon of choice to claim the biggest scalp of her fledgling career.

Kimberly Birrell of Australia plays a backhand against Donna Vekic of Croatia. Picture: Getty Images

Kimberly Birrell has a favourite stick. Her weapon of choice. She wants it for the third set. The set she’s dreamt about since she was hitting balls as a starry-eyed kid with Sam Stosur.

There’s an exchange with the umpire. Can I give my racquet to the stringer? Sure. Who do I give it to? The bloke over there. She does. The message is clear. Get this back to me. Pronto.

Meantime, Donna Vekic is getting cranky. She’s called for a video challenge. The umpire has ignored her. She shouts at him. I said, challenge! Did not. Did so!

Vekic is told she has to say it more clearly. She suggests she has done that already. She’s in a right mood when the third set begins.

Birrell, the 20-year-old daughter of the head coach at Stosur’s home club on the Gold Coast, plays an inspired decider with her preferred piece of equipment. “Yep, I got the racquet back,” she grins after her 6-4 4-6 6-1 triumph.

Birrell’s on-court poker face is intense and unwavering until the biggest moment of her career sparks the transformation from stern competitor to mega-excited youngster.

She’s unsure what to say. Unsure what to do. Talking a million miles an hour. It’s good stuff. ­Career-changing stuff. Heady stuff.

Birrell was 12 years of age when Stosur, a member of the Queens Park Tennis Centre at Southport, won the 2011 US Open.

“My parents have run Queens Park, the tennis club there, for the last 11 years or so,” Birrell says.

“I’ve really grown up around tennis. I’ve got great memories of Sam coming and spending Christmases there because her parents still live on the Gold Coast.

“She’d always jump on the court with me in the last five minutes of her practice. I’d watch her and I’ve really looked up to her. To now be kind of rubbing shoulders with her all the time, she’s such an awesome person.

“I feel very lucky. I remember very clearly Sam winning the US Open. We were all sitting on the couch and watching it on a big screen. I’ve always looked up to her.”

Birrell is no household name in Australia but the wildcard has beaten world No 10 Daria Kasatkina in Brisbane a fortnight ago to hint that something’s cooking.

Her ranking of 240 is about to be slashed after her elimination of the 29th seed. Her third-round match against world No 2 and reigning Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber may get her inside the Rod Laver Arena.

“So happy. So surreal. So many emotions in my head,” she says. “There were definitely some nerves but I was just trying to stay in the moment. Concentrate on one point at a time. I just tried my hardest. Left it all out there. So many new experiences.

“The crowd was super-loud and got behind me. I definitely used the energy. It’s such a blur. I don’t know what happened. I was able to wrestle the momentum. I’m just trying to take it all in. You have to dream big.”

Birrell was born in Dusseldorf to Australian parents. Her father, John, was working in Germany as a coach. The family relocated to the Victorian town of Wodonga before settling on the Gold Coast. Birrell was three years of age at the time. John was head coach of Pat Cash’s Tennis Academy, and yesterday he was in the stands to watch the most adrenalised ­moments of his daughter’s fledgling career.

Birrell was forced to start her career “from scratch” after elbow surgery two years ago. “I’ve got some confidence again,” she says.

She is anticipating a few more friends from the Gold Coast joining her entourage.

“I’m so happy I get to play again. I’ve had so much incredible support from so many people, I’m actually a bit scared to turn my phone on. Not just this week but the last few weeks.

“My family’s here, they’re in the crowd. The support is overwhelming. The rankings points are really going to help me.”

And the guaranteed $150,000 prizemoney. “Maybe I can buy myself a car now,” she says.

“My mum and I share one. To be injury-free is awesome. I’ve learned that as an elite sportsperson your body is something you have to look after really well. I’ve worked hard off the court.

“If anyone told me this would be happening, I’d have told them they’re crazy. Anything can happen if you believe in yourself. There’s been lots of ups and downs. I had an injury and coming back from that was tough. There were some matches where I was crying at the change of ends and not sure I could do it.

“But I’m here now.”