Kimberly Birrell and Priscilla Hon are among five Australians to progress to the second round in the Roland Garros 2024 women’s qualifying singles event.
Paris, France, 22 May 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Five Australians have advanced to the second round in the Roland Garros 2024 women’s qualifying singles competition.
Kimberly Birrell and Priscilla Hon scored opening-round victories on day two in Paris, joining compatriots Astra Sharma, Taylah Preston and Olivia Gadecki in the next round.
> READ: Australian women off to a promising start in qualifying at Roland Garros 2024
This is only the second time in the past 45 years that five Australian women have progressed to this stage in a Roland Garros qualifying draw, matching the efforts of 2022.
The Open era record for Australian women reaching the second round in qualifying at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament is six, which was achieved in 1978.
Birrell achieved a milestone of her own, staging a stirring comeback to notch her career-first victory at Roland Garros.
The 26-year-old from the Gold Coast triumphed 2-6 6-0 6-3 against world No.170 Polina Kudermetova.
This is world No.154 Birrell’s eighth win from her past 10 matches and sets up a second-round showdown with Serbian Olga Danilovic, the 11th seed in the women’s qualifying draw.
Hon scored a 7-6(5) 6-3 victory in her opening-round clash against German Mona Barthel, a former world No.23.
The 26-year-old from Brisbane, who is currently ranked world No.216, next faces Hungarian Panna Udvardy, a 25-year-old ranked No.132.
World No.215 Li Tu is proudly carrying Australian hopes in the men’s qualifying singles competition.
The 27-year-old from Adelaide recorded his career-first win at Roland Garros, producing an impressive display to beat Brit Oliver Crawford 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2.
Tu struck 42 winners to 25, which included nine aces, in the two-hour and 15-minute encounter.
> READ: Australian men set to achieve 25-year first at Roland Garros 2024
After recording his first win on clay in almost two years, Tu’s next challenge is a second-round meeting with veteran Mikhail Kukushkin. The 36-year-old from Kazakhstan is a former world No.39.
All six remaining Australians are scheduled to continue their qualifying campaign on day three in Paris.
> VIEW: Roland Garros 2024 qualifying day three schedule
Players need to win three rounds to earn a coveted main-draw spot at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament.
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