His bloodied knuckles were better suited to a street fighter. His desperate lunges – many ending in a full splits – warranted praise from a ballerina.
But it was the tenacity and tennis craft of unheralded Sunshine Coast qualifier Dane Sweeny that almost secured an unlikely victory in his spectacular duel against Argentina’s Francisco Cerúndolo that highlighted the Australian Open’s first ever Sunday start.
In the end, the fairytale was not to be. On the so-called “people’s court” John Cain Arena at Melbourne Park, the crowd favourite could not quite squeeze out an upset against the No 22-seeded Argentinian.
Cerúndolo proved too powerful in the fifth set, finally overwhelming the Australian on a warm but windy afternoon, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 2-6. But the 10,000-odd fans that caught even a glimpse of a new Australian tennis hero appreciated it was not for lack of effort.
And although the outcome was a local’s elimination, Sweeny’s performance represented a tantalising appetiser to a tournament offering its largest Australian male contingent since 1998.
“This morning I just wanted to make sure it was a good match for everyone that came down to watch me,” Sweeny said. “I’m happy – at least it was a good match.”
The diminutive 22-year-old had already won through three matches during qualifying to secure a place on the biggest stage of his young career. And boosted by a friendly Saturday hit-up with world No 1 Novak Djokovic and a boisterous Day One attendance, Sweeny started the better.
With his backwards hat, sweat band on his arm, strawberry blonde hair and dogged demeanour, he resembled a young Lleyton Hewitt. In a successful opening, Sweeny’s clenched fist – a variant of Hewitt’s famed open-handed “come on” sign – became a familiar sight.
Buoyed by the home support (the first “Come on Aussie” chant arrived in the first game) the Australian stole the first set. However, the grace and power of Cerúndolo soon turned the match, and the favourite was on course for victory after three sets.
At that stage, the qualifier looked gone. He retied his shoelaces in a bid to extract every ounce of traction on his laps of the baseline. A seven-minute game went the way of the Argentinian. Frustration and fatigue was building. “Excuse me, I need water bottles filled up,” he pleaded to the umpire for more time between games.
But Sweeny held from 0-30 down at the start of the fourth set, and – as the volume of the crowd increased – the Australian broke the Argentinian not long after. His busy backhand and batted returns were frustrating his opponent, and through it all he showed the kind of determination that took Hewitt to the top of tennis a generation ago.
“He forced me to play a lot more aggressive, and I did that and I was thankful I was able to execute,” Sweeny said. “And definitely the crowd, the crowd was unreal – that really helped me turn it around.”
As the match pushed past three hours, Sweeny’s fist had returned – with red, grazed knuckles from another encounter with the Melbourne Park surface. The match was all square, but not for long.
Despite a standing ovation from his support team on almost every point, Sweeny eventually ran out of steam. Cerúndolo’s experience and endurance proved too much, pushing the Australian deeper and deeper in the court, eventually to defeat.
But while a victory was not forthcoming, the Australian left with pride. A smiling Sweeny embraced the Argentinian at the net at the end of the match, nodding when complimented by his opponent.
Afterwards, his bloody right hand was addressed by medical staff, but Sweeny played down the pain. “I just want to try and get to every single ball and I’m willing to put my body in any position necessary, especially with the crowd behind you and you’re playing Australian Open.”
Sweeny said he would return to the short-term rental he is sharing with his support group, eager to save as much as he can, although he admitted he might have “a couple of beers” to celebrate the occasion.
He will also leave Melbourne Park with $120,000 in prize money, enough to cover travel for him and his coach this year. But also something else.
“The money is secondary to the kind of confidence I’ll take out of it and the belief that it’s given me,” he said. “That’s far more important… but yeah, definitely the money helps.”
Earlier on the tournament’s first-ever opening Sunday another Queenslander, wildcard Adam Walton, was eliminated in straight sets by Italian Matteo Arnaldi. Arnaldi will now meet the winner of Monday’s night clash between Australia’s world No. 10 Alex de Minaur and Canadian Milos Raonic.
De Minaur is one of 15 Australian men who start the 2024 tournament, which has scheduled two all-Australian round one clashes for Monday’s day sessions, with Alexei Popyrin meeting Marc Polmans, and Aleks Vukic playing Jordan Thompson.
Australia’s Storm Hunter will also be in action against Italy’s 101st-ranked veteran Sara Errani. It marks the first time a reigning world No 1 in doubles has completed a successful Grand Slam qualifying singles campaign in 18 years.