Australian Jordan Thompson advanced to his first ATP-level hard-court semifinal at this week’s Brisbane International.
Australia, 7 January 2024 | Leigh Rogers
It has been a memorable start to the 2024 season for Australia’s leading players.
Alex de Minaur is set to climb into the world’s top 10 after his heroics at the United Cup, while several other Aussies posted career-best results to make an encouraging start to the new year.
This week’s most outstanding performers include:
Alex de Minaur: The 24-year-old scored three top-10 wins to lead Australia into the United Cup semifinals. This included a stunning upset of Novak Djokovic to become the first Australian man to defeat the world No.1 on home soil in 28 years.
Storm Hunter and Matt Ebden: Teaming up for the first time, world No.1 Hunter and world No.4 Ebden won three of their four mixed doubles matches to help Australia progress to the United Cup semifinals.
Jordan Thompson: The 29-year-old sensationally saved three match points before eliminating former world No.1 Rafael Nadal in the Brisbane International quarterfinals. This propelled Thompson into his first ATP singles semifinal on hard courts.
Rinky Hijikata: The 22-year-old was a singles quarterfinalist at the ATP 250 tournament in Brisbane. This was Hijikata’s second career ATP quarterfinal appearance and first on home soil.
James Duckworth: The 31-year-old defeated three higher-ranked opponents to advance to the singles quarterfinals as a qualifier at the ATP 250 tournament in Brisbane. This was Duckworth’s best result at the event in nine years.
Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell: The all-Aussie duo scored several impressive wins during their march into the doubles semifinals at the ATP 250 tournament in Brisbane.
Arina Rodionova: The 34-year-old posted back-to-back top-50 wins for the first time in her career to reach the third round at the WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane. This was Rodionova’s best WTA-level result since 2017.
> READ: Arina Rodionova – “I think I surprised a lot of people”
Daria Saville: The 29-year-old recorded her first WTA main-draw win on Australian soil since February 2021, progressing to the second round at the Brisbane International. Saville was also a doubles semifinalist alongside Daria Kasatkina.
Olivia Gadecki: The 21-year-old qualified at a WTA 500 tournament for the first time, then beat fellow Queenslander Kimberly Birrell to progress to the second round at…
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