Ajla Tomljanović produced another comeback late on Thursday night, against 11th seed Jelena Ostapenko in the Australian Open second round, but ultimately her revival fell just short.
The Latvian’s 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 win leaves just two Australians left in singles competition at Melbourne Park.
Tomljanović said the 102-minute match passed in what felt like very little time at all.
“I felt like I blinked and it was over,” the Australian said. “She came out swinging and I knew I should expect that, but I wasn’t ready.”
Ostapenko reached the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park last year, and the 2017 French Open champion’s recent form has taken her back into the top 10.
She won the doubles title in Brisbane, and singles in Adelaide in the lead-in. And she had already beaten one local player, Kim Birrell, at this year’s tournament.
The powerful hitter said after the match she has been trying to adopt a more aggressive style.
“Maybe it sounds strange for me, but I feel like in [the] deciding moment, I need to put more pressure on the opponent, and that’s where I can get better.”
On Thursday her revised approach showed promise. In a 19-minute first set blitz, Ostapenko hit 10 winners to the Australian’s one, and was helped by four double faults from her opponent.
But Tomljanović – still recovering after knee surgery last year – had already pulled off one comeback this week, dragging herself to victory against Petra Martić in the first round despite trailing 1-4 in the final set.
And she instantly looked an improved played in the second frame, breaking her opponent in the fifth game.
The Latvian spent much of the set arguing with her box. Several times she gestured furiously for at least one of her party to leave the arena. Tomljanović seemed to benefit from Ostapenko’s distractions, and took the set with another break.
“Whenever I felt I had an inch, I tried to just take a swing and it paid off,” Tomljanović said.
Passing midnight, the match had taken on an unusual character. In the third set there were three straight breaks, and in the next game the Latvian double faulted twice, but still held to retain the upper hand.
At 3-4 down, the Australian came closest to dragging herself back level again. A sensational forehand return set up two break points. But a strong Ostapenko serve down the middle saved one, then Tomljanović was worked around the court to save the second.
Ultimately, that was where the comeback ended. Despite holding to love trailing 3-5, the Australian was eliminated from her home grand slam soon after.
“I feel like I should be angry, but I’m really chilled because it didn’t feel like I did something crazy wrong,” she said.
“When I do think back to 12 months ago, I just feel lucky that I’m here.”
This was the pair’s fourth meeting. Ostapenko had won two of those, but the clash that is remembered by most was the Australian’s three-set victory at Wimbledon in 2021.
That day Ostapenko called for a contentious medical timeout, and the match ended in a confrontation at the net, with Ostapenko calling the Australian “the worst player on tour”.
In the early hours of Friday, the animosity seemed to have dissolved completely. The pair shared what appeared to be a warm exchange at the match’s conclusion, and Ostapenko said it was “great to see her back” on court afterwards.
“I think it’s water under the bridge now,” Tomljanović said. “I think there’s mutual respect between her and I, and she was really kind with her words when we shook hands.”
The result means of 21 Australian singles entrants this year, only two remain: Alex de Minaur and women’s doubles No 1 Storm Hunter.
Tomljanović said she liked Hunter’s chances on Friday against ninth seed Barbora Krejčíková.
“[Hunter] proved here that she really does kind of have the higher level in singles game, and one thing with Storm you never count her out.”
Hunter plays Krejčíková in Friday’s evening session on Rod Laver Arena. Also on Friday night, De Minaur meets Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli on John Cain Arena.