Rinky Hijikata, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Talia Gibson headline a star-studded lineup at the City of Playford Tennis International this week.
Playford, SA, 21 October 2024 | Jackson Mansell
Top-100 duo Rinky Hijikata and Thanasi Kokkinakis headline a star-studded lineup at this week’s City of Playford Tennis International.
The pair enter the tournament as the top two seeds, as the Australian Pro Tour hosts its first ATP Challenger event since early February.
Meanwhile, a red-hot Talia Gibson leads the entrants for the women’s ITF event in Playford.
> MORE: In-form Gibson targeting Grand Slams, top 100
No.1 seed Hijikata is aiming for his second title in Playford after 2022, when he defeated Max Purcell and James Duckworth to win his maiden Challenger title.
Since his US Open 2023 campaign, which saw him reach the fourth round, Hijikata has remained in the top 100, and is currently ranked 79th.
Hijikata, 23, can join Duckworth as a two-time champion if he is successful this week.
Kokkinakis will aim to spoil those plans when he competes in front of a home crowd. While the South Australian has not won a title since the Sarasota Challenger in April, he has claimed some big wins in the past few months.
In July, Kokkinakis defeated world No.17 Felix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon, before prevailing against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of the US Open. The world No.83 will be hoping to improve on last year’s second-round exit in Playford.
Also in the draw is seventh seed is Omar Jasika, who will put his 27-match winning streak on the line. Jasika has won his last five tournaments, triumphing in Bali (twice), Darwin (twice) and Cairns. In order to continue his streak, the world No.193 must win his first Challenger match since July.
On the women’s side, Gibson is fresh off three consecutive titles and has an impressive 14-match winning streak of her own.
Ranked 129th, Gibson is aiming to gain direct entry into the Australian Open – the first time she would bypass qualifying at a Grand Slam.
“Direct entry into a Grand Slam is probably one of my biggest goals,” she said on The Sit-Down podcast.
“Having just played all of the Grand Slams this year and having gotten into [qualifying] off of my own ranking, I think that was already a huge step forward for me and something that was really exciting.”
Winning back-to-back titles in the doubles, the 20-year-old will also be hoping to claim her first singles crown…
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