‘Once-in-a-lifetime moment’: Gadecki wins on Australian Open debut

Olivia Gadecki wiped tears away on Monday after embracing her mum Natalia for a second time, about 15 minutes after becoming the first local winner at this year’s Australian Open.

It was an emotional moment for Gadecki, who defeated Russian qualifier Polina Kudermetova – sister of top-10 star Veronika Kudermetova – 7-5, 6-1 for her first win in the main draw of a grand slam.

A group of roughly 10 relatives, including her five brothers, travelled from Brisbane and the Gold Coast for the 20-year-old wildcard’s grand slam main draw debut and witnessed not only her victory but the special moment between mother and daughter.

There was also a text waiting for her from reigning champion Ash Barty, who is mentoring her fellow Queenslander, which “meant a lot”.

Gadecki’s first Australian Open win was a long time coming, after the 20-year-old sacrificed her chance to play in the 2022 tournament due to not being vaccinated.

Olivia Gadecki celebrates during her first round win over Polina Kudermetova.Credit: Getty Images

By then, she had already been ushered into Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup squad, was considered a huge part of the country’s tennis future and boasted a win over 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

But her big breakthrough at her home grand slam would have to wait until Monday.

“At the end of the day, it’s definitely a relief [that I can play this year], but I knew what my decision entailed, and I totally respect everyone’s opinion and personal choice,” Gadecki said. “I’m just grateful to be here.”

Displaying nerves of steel, the world No.199, who is coached by Des Tyson, completed victory over Kudermetova with her seventh ace, before raising her arms in triumph and hugging her mother courtside.

“Looking back at my match, it kind of seems like a blur, to be honest, but I’m just really excited to get the win and to play again on Wednesday,” she said.

“I don’t even think I can put it into words, but I’ve dreamt about it my whole life, and to really live it is just a whole other feeling.

“The crowd was amazing today. I feel like in the past I’ve kind of kept to myself a bit. Today, I just wanted to kind of let them in and really embrace the crowd.

“It’s such a once-in-a-lifetime sort of moment, so I’m really thankful for the crowd. They got me over the line.”

Gadecki’s father is not in the picture, and she is her mother’s only daughter out of six kids, so they have a very close bond. That much was obvious from the emotional post-match scenes, but she removed any doubt.

“My mum has put in a lot of time, sacrifice and dedication into my career, so I’m really happy we can share that moment together,” Gadecki said.

“[She] means so much to me. I look up to her in every sort of way, and without her, I wouldn’t be here today, so I’m just eternally grateful for her time and sacrifice.”

Ukrainian-born Natalia was overwhelmed with various emotions after her daughter’s first-round triumph and found it difficult to put into words how proud she was.

“You can’t describe that – I think you need to live this moment. It’s very hard to describe it. It took a lot of years of dreaming, hard work and believing,” Natalia said.

“It’s the beginning, I hope, and we’ll see more of her. She’s a strong girl ... the boys were playing first, and she was always mingling among them and challenging them, and she’s the one still playing – and we’re just supporting.”

Natalia’s sister and other family still live in war-torn Ukraine, and it was not lost on anyone that Kudermetova is Russian. Coincidentally, Gadecki faces Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the second round.

“It’s very sad what’s happening there,” Natalia said. “It’s nothing to do with Olivia’s tennis, but I believe having strong roots from over there, and the nature of the personality, maybe that stems from her parents [being] from that background.”

Gadecki was one of only five Australian women competing in the Open’s main draw after Ajla Tomljanovic’s withdrawal on Saturday, on top of Barty’s retirement and Daria Saville recovering from a second ACL setback.

That number is down to four after 18-year-old wildcard Talia Gibson lost 6-3, 6-4 to France’s Clara Burel despite being up a break in both sets.

Tennis Australia’s director of professional tennis, ex-player Paul Kilderry, said both Gadecki and Gibson would have learnt a lot in both victory and defeat.

“It’s a long journey. Sometimes, we see young players come through, and we expect so much of them and everyone will flourish in their [own] time,” Kilderry said.

“It’s a fine line, and you need momentum, you need confidence, you need to be fit, you need to have done the work and there are so many pieces of the puzzle that need to be in place to perform at that level.

“We all want it to happen so fast, but it’s not always like that.”

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