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Australian Open

Oy oy oy: Aussies wild cards finish 0-9 across two Australian Open singles draws 

The gloomy stat was sealed after Jelena Ostapenko eased past Kimberly Birrell on Tuesday evening in Melbourne.

By TENNIS.com
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When No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko finished off Kimberly Birrell at the Australian Open early Tuesday evening on Court 3, it cemented one brutal statistic. Think "Oy Oy Oy!" instead of "Oi Oi Oi!"

With Birrell’s 7-6 (5), 6-1 defeat, wild cards hailing from the host nation ended up with a winless record in combining to go 0-9 across the two singles draws.

Three of the losses were tougher to swallow than the others and all occurred Monday.

Hobart semifinalist Daria Saville had wiped away a 2-5 deficit in her third set, only to get broken in a 10-point game by Magdalena Frech to end it after staving off four match points.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 15: Daria Saville of Australia plays a backhand in their round one singles match against Magdalena Frech of Poland during the 2024 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 15, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)
© Getty Images

Coming off a quarterfinal showing in Brisbane, James Duckworth led his match with Luca Van Assche by two sets to one, but dropped the fourth and fifth sets after conceding early breaks to the Frenchman.

The most agonizing exit of all may have been Jason Kubler’s. The world No. 113 led his fifth set 4-2 and held three break points to put the match on his racquet. Daniel Elahi Galan had other ideas, eventually holding, breaking back and building a sizeable lead in a decisive 10-point tiebreaker. Kubler brought it back from 7-2 to 7-7, only to fall 10-8.

Hindsight is of course, 20/20, but the results certainly add to the sting for the retiring John Millman and highest-ranked Aussie on the WTA Tour in Arina Rodionova. Neither managed to come through qualifying, which some would argue makes the case that their main-draw snubs were justified.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 15: James Duckworth of Australia reacts in their round one singles match against Luca Van Assche of France during the 2024 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 15, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
© Getty Images

For those who gained direct entry or successfully qualified, there’s still plenty of names for locals to get behind in round two.

  • No. 10 seed Alex de Minaur (faces Matteo Arnaldi)
  • Alexei Popyrin (faces top seed Novak Djokovic)
  • Christopher O’Connell (faces No. 16 seed Ben Shelton)
  • Jordan Thompson (faces No. 7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas)
  • Max Purcell (faces No. 11 seed Casper Ruud)
  • Qualifier Storm Hunter (faces Laura Siegemund)

Thanasi Kokkinakis was on court Tuesday facing Sebastian Ofner and Ajla Tomljanovic was due to meet Petra Martic.