Wildcards Jordan Thompson (NSW), Alex Bolt (SA), Matthew Barton (NSW), Matt Reid (NSW) and Adam Feeney (NSW), along with former world No. 4 and No. 9 seed James Blake (USA), have all won their first round matches of Australian Open qualifying at Melbourne Park today.
Eighteen-year-old Thompson scored the biggest scalp of his fledgling pro career, holding his nerve to come back from a set down over veteran Frenchman Nicolas Renavand 4-6 6-2 9-7.
South Australian Alex Bolt, 20, continued his good form with a 7-6(5) 6-4 win over Boy Westerhof (NED). In 2012 the left-hander slashed his ranking more than 500 places – from 892 to 380 – on the back of three Futures title wins and a further three finals appearances.
Sydneysider Matt Reid, 22, won 6-2 6-4 over Brazil’s Ricardo Hocevar; Adam Feeney took three sets to overcome Daniel Kosakowski (USA) 5-7 6-4 6-3, and Matthew Barton scored a convincing 6-1 6-3 victory over Kamil Capkovic (SVK).
Fellow wildcard entrant Thanasi Kokkinakis (SA) endured a marathon three-set clash with American Steve Johnson, eventually going down 6-4 6-7(5) 15-17 after almost four hours on court.
The 16-year-old rising star and world No. 758 took it right up to Johnson, who is ranked almost 600 places above him at No. 175, to show he has a big future in the sport.
Former world No. 4 James Blake ended Marius Copil’s (ROU) qualifying campaign, his 6-4 6-4 win earning the ninth seed a place in the second round.
The women’s qualifying event gets under way at Melbourne Park tomorrow with Sally Peers (Vic), Anastasia Rodionova (Vic) and Brisbane International semi-finalist Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) all in action on Show Court 3.
Topics: Adam Feeney, Alex Bolt, Australian tennis news, Jordan Thompson, Matt Reid, Nicolas Renavand, Sports, Tennis Australia, Tennis News
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