Aussie wildcard Tristan Schoolkate has lost his final-round qualifying match at Australian Open 2023.
Melbourne, Australia, 12 January 2023 | Leigh Rogers
Tristan Schoolkate’s dream of qualifying at Australian Open 2023 has fallen just short.
The 21-year-old from Perth’s career-best Grand Slam run ended at Melbourne Park today, with Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff recording a 6-1 6-4 victory in their final-round qualifying clash.
Struff, a former world No.29, was competing in his 11th consecutive Australian Open and 40th career Grand Slam tournament in total.
The 32-year-old’s experience proved telling in the early stages of the match, helping him quickly gain control. Struff conceded only a single point on his service games in a dominant opening set, while 14 unforced errors also proved costly for Schoolkate.
The Aussie wildcard, currently ranked No.365 and competing in his fourth Grand Slam qualifying draw, settled and put up a gallant fight in the second set.
But world No.167 Struff lifted in the 10th game, breaking Schoolkate’s serve to love to seal victory after 68 minutes on court.
Earlier today, Max Purcell completed a flawless qualifying campaign with a straight-sets win against world No.134 Matteo Arnaldi.
> READ MORE: Purcell qualifies at AO 2023
Aleksandar Vukic also secured his place in the main draw after beating world No.109 Michael Mmoh in two tight sets.
It is the first time since 2017 that multiple Australian men have qualified at the tournament – and only the second time this has happened in the past 20 years.
Purcell and Vukic’s success boosts the number of local contenders in the Australian Open 2023 men’s singles main draw to 11.
Main-draw action at Australian Open 2023 begins on Monday 16 January.
> BUY NOW: Australian Open 2023 tickets
AUSSIES IN ACTION – Australian Open
TODAY’S RESULTS
Men’s qualifying singles, final round
Max Purcell (AUS) d [22] Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) 6-4 6-3
[21] Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) d [9] Michael Mmoh (USA) 6-1 6-4
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) d [WC] Tristan Schoolkate (AUS) 6-1 6-4
> READ: Australian Open 2023 main draws revealed
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