Tomljanovic, Saville may boost Aussie French Open hopes

Darren Walton | May 2, 2023

Hold the phone, Australia’s French Open women’s singles stocks may not be as bleak as first feared.

From the heady days of Ash Barty hoisting the trophy four years ago to no Australian female in the Roland Garros draw for the season’s second grand slam starting on May 28.

That appeared the dire scenario if not for Tennis Australia’s reciprocal wildcard arrangement with the French tennis federation.

But TA officials are now holding out hope former top-20 star Daria Saville and three-time grand slam quarter-finalist Ajla Tomljanovic will be fit for the clay-court major despite having not played a match in 2023 because of knee injuries.

Tomljanovic remains on the Open entry list while Saville is considering a shock comeback after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament only five months ago at the Japan Open.

Saville is said to be recovering ahead of time and contemplating applying her injury-protected ranking to play in Paris.

Tomljanovic also remains a chance after cruelly being forced out of the Australian Open – and every event since – after enjoying a career year in 2022.

The 29-year-old reached her second-straight Wimbledon quarter-final, falling to eventual champion Elena Rybakina in three high-quality sets, before spectacularly ending Serena Williams’ decorated career en route to the last eight at the US Open.

Saville’s devastating setback could not have come at a more untimely moment either.

After a wretched run with a debilitating foot injury forced Saville out of the top 400, the one-time world No.1 junior had clawed her way back to the cusp of the top 50 last November before disaster struck again.

Aussie tennis fans are now sweating on Tomljanovic and Saville making improbable returns at Roland Garros.

Their potential absence, and last year’s retirement of Barty, would otherwise leave world No.113 Kim Birrell, herself on the comeback trail from serious injury, as Australia’s highest-ranked active player on the WTA Tour.

Birrell missed the direct entry cut-off, leaving TA with a tough choice to make over who receives their Roland Garros wildcard.

Rising star Olivia Gadecki, the world No.151 mentored by 2019 champion Barty, also has claims, while fellow top-200 players Priscilla Hon, Jaimee Fourlis and Fed Cup ace Storm Hunter are other candidates.

Whoever misses out also has the option of trying to qualify by winning three sudden-death matches on the Parisian red dirt, one of the toughest assignments in tennis.

While it shapes as a lean singles campaign for Australia’s women, world No.19 Alex de Minaur will spearhead a relatively healthy Australian men’s contingent from May 28 to June 11.

Like Tomljanovic, 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios has not played in 2023 because of a knee injury and remains under a fitness cloud.

But de Minaur will at least be joined in the main draw by resurgent quartet Jason Kubler, former French Open junior champion Alexei Popyrin, Chris O’Connell and Max Purcell, as well as Jordan Thompson and likely wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Kicking on from his breakout 2022 season, Kubler this week cracked a career-high No.63 in the rankings while O’Connell registered huge wins over Ugo Humbert and former world No.2 and reigning Olympic champion Alexander Zverev en route to his maiden ATP semi-final last week in Hamburg.