With breakthrough results and big wins, Ajla Tomljanovic, Rinky Hijikata and Jordan Thompson all starred at grass-court events this week.
London, Great Britain, 24 June 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Several Australian players achieved stunning new grass-court highs this week.
A resurgent Ajla Tomljanovic charged into her first WTA grass-court final at a tournament in Birmingham, while Jordan Thompson and Rinky Hijikata produced career-best runs of their own at an ATP 500 tournament at the prestigious Queen’s Club in London.
Several others, including James Duckworth, Kimberly Birrell and Daria Saville, recorded impressive wins against higher-ranked opponents.
Australian players shone brightly on different surfaces too. Matthew Romios captured a clay-court doubles title, while Melisa Ercan and Joshua Charlton triumphed at hard-court events.
This week’s most outstanding performers include:
Jordan Thompson: The 30-year-old went on a giant-killing run at an ATP 500 tournament at London’s Queen’s Club (Great Britain), eliminating world No.15 Holger Rune, world No.12 Taylor Fritz and former world No.1 Andy Murray to reach the semifinals. This was Thompson’s deepest ever run at ATP 500 level.
Rinky Hijikata: The 23-year-old advanced to his first singles quarterfinal at ATP 500 level, beating three higher-ranked opponents as a qualifier at Queen’s Club. Hijikata’s career-best run included two wins against top-35 players.
Matt Ebden: The 36-year-old was a doubles quarterfinalist at the ATP 500 tournament at Queen’s Club with Indian partner Rohan Bopanna. This was the combination’s sixth quarterfinal appearance this season.
> READ: Ebden reflects on his comfort on grass
James Duckworth: The 32-year-old scored two top-100 wins to qualify, then reached the second round at an ATP 500 tournament in Halle (Germany). The in-form Duckworth has won eight of his 11 grass-court matches this month.
Ajla Tomljanovic: The 31-year-old scored four top-60 wins to finish runners-up in singles at a WTA 250 tournament in Birmingham (Great Britain). This was Tomljanovic’s fifth career WTA singles final appearance and her first since February 2019.
> READ: Tomljanovic awarded Wimbledon wildcard following Birmingham run
Daria Saville: The 30-year-old continued her promising grass-court form, beating world No.66 Cristina Busca to qualify at the WTA 250 tournament in Nottingham.
Matthew Romios: The 25-year-old clinched the double title at an…
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