Three Argentinians remain in the race for a place in the main draw of the first Grand Slam of the year. Here are the details.
At the end of the second day of qualifying for the Australian Open, only three Argentines are still involved in the tournament taking place at Melbourne Park: Thiago Tirante (115th), Juan Pablo Ficovich (193rd) and Julia Riera (147th). ) aim to secure a place in the main draw of the first Grand Slam of the season.
At the end of a match that lasted almost three hours, Tirante beat the Austrian Juric Rodionov (166th) with a score of 7-6(5), 4-6, and 6-4, thus realizing his dream of participate in the ocean tournament (he has already played four qualifications). In the semi-final, the native of La Plata will face Frenchman Titouan Droguet (185th) on Wednesday at 1:00 a.m.
The only female player still in contention is Riera, who got her first victory in the Australian Open qualifiers by outclassing Croatian Lea Boskovic (214th) with a score of 4-6, 6-1, 6- 2. She will play her semi-final against Romanian Miriam Bulgaru (217th) on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. The Pergamino player is aiming to compete at the Australian Open for the first time in her career, joining the other 127 women competing.
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Australian Open: Three Argentinians Remain in Race to Qualify for the Main Draw
The last national representative with hopes of advancing to the main draw is last year’s Cali Challenger champion, Juan Pablo Ficovich. The 27-year-old will face the young American Learner Tien (120th) in the second round, scheduled for Tuesday at 9:30 p.m., after reaching this stage by beating the British Paul Jubb (189th) in two sets of 6-4.
Apart from these three players, seven others were eliminated in the first round of qualifying. The youngest of the Cerúndolo brothers, Juan Manuel (140th), lost to the Japanese Yosuke Watanuki (345th) with a score of 6-3, 7-6(3). Meanwhile, in the women’s category, Solana Sierra (167th) was defeated in her debut by Croatian Lucija Ciric Bagaric (218th) with a score of 6-2, 7-5.
