Kimberly Birrell upset Sofia Kenin to hitch Maya Joint within the second spherical at Eastbourne, on the identical venue the place James Duckworth beat Aleksandar Vukic in an all-Aussie conflict.
Eastbourne, UK, 25 June 2025 | AAP
Kimberly Birrell has upset Australian Open 2020 champion Sofia Kenin on the WTA occasion in Eastbourne as fellow Australian Maya Joint prepares to face Emma Raducanu.
Birrell, 27, the world No.77, bounced again from a first-round exit at Nottingham final week to oust Kenin, the No.4 seed, 6-4 6-4 within the pre-Wimbledon match.
It supplies extra encouragement for Gold Coast resident Birrell, who has reached the quarterfinals in Singapore and Brisbane, together with ventures to the second spherical at Miami and Rosmalen thus far this 12 months.
One other Australian, Maya Joint, who eradicated two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur within the first spherical on Monday, has found her reward will probably be a conflict with Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion.
The British No.1, seeded seventh in Eastbourne, needed to recuperate from the lack of the primary set, whereas coping with blustery situations and a again downside, on the best way to a 6-7(5) 6-3 6-1 win over American Ann Li.
Raducanu has been troubled by her again since competing in Strasbourg earlier than Roland Garros and took an off-court medical timeout throughout her quarterfinal loss at Queen’s Membership earlier this month.
In an all-Australian conflict at Eastbourne on the concurrent ATP occasion, James Duckworth battled previous Aleksandar Vukic 6-3 6-7(5) 6-1.
It marked a 3rd straight win on the English south coast for Duckworth, who got here by means of two rounds of qualifying to achieve the primary draw.
He subsequent faces No.6 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a spot within the quarterfinals.
There was one other all-Aussie conflict on the ATP grasscourt in Mallorca, one which noticed Bernard Tomic upset Rinky Hijikata.
Tomic, aged 32, clinched his first tour-level win since 2021 as he continues his quiet revival.
The previous world No.17 – a rankings excessive he achieved virtually 10 years in the past – recovered from a set and a break down in opposition to Hijikata, who served for the match when main 5-4 within the second set.
Tomic rebounded to win 3-6 7-5 6-2, his first victory in a tour-level principal draw since Australian Open 2021, and first in a accomplished match since July 2019, when he beat Matt Ebden to achieve the ATP Atlanta quarterfinals.
Like Duckworth, Tomic is on a three-match successful streak on the match after navigating the qualifying rounds, and has arrange a second-round assembly with No.7 seed Roberto Bautista Agut.
The world No.24 narrowly missed the cut-off for Wimbledon qualifying and determined to not cling round within the hope of a late withdrawal in London.
As an alternative he packed his luggage and headed to the Spanish island of Mallorca, dwelling of 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, and what he hoped can be one other step on the lengthy highway again.
Over the weekend he defeated Jasper De Jong, a Dutchman ranked 93rd who lately gained a spherical at Roland Garros, and Aleksandar Kovacevic, an American who sits at world No.77, to qualify for the primary draw,
Removed from the massive phases of sport, Tomic has been slogging it out in ITF Futures and ATP Challenger occasions in an try to interrupt again into the highest 100.
His defeat of Hijikata, who has already certified for the primary draw at Wimbledon, boosts his ATP stay rating to 213th.
Ought to he keep this place, it could put him within the body to play in US Open qualifying in New York in late August.
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