Tomljanovic primed for Chatrier showdown with Paolini
Ajla Tomljanovic believes her triumph in the all-Aussie 'generation game' with Maya Joint may have provided her with the perfect preparation to down her next, more illustrious opponent at the French Open.
Tomljanovic predicted a golden future for "amazing talent" Joint after her first-round win, saying the teenager's crisp-striking, fleet-footed game reminded her of the world No.4 Jasmine Paolini, who now stands in her way.
And the evergreen Tomljanovic believes she'll have to deliver the same front-foot attacking display to down the little Italian ball of energy who reached both the Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals last year.
"Jasmine is like, in a sense, a more experienced and better Maya. They have pretty similar games," mused the 32-year-old Tomljanovic, looking forward to the high-profile date on Court Philippe Chatrier on Wednesday.
"So I came off court, and the first thing my coach said was 'this is the way you have to play against Jasmine, and it's going to be very important for you to keep doing that on Wednesday'.
"So there'll be no excuses, I know how to approach it."
Tomljanovic accepts her young friend Joint, with whom she's trained a lot, is still a work in progress but she's seen enough to make her think the teenager could be hovering around the world's top 30 by the end of this year.
Her simple analysis? "Just going off of what I feel when I play her, she's just extremely, extremely good at tennis!
"We practice a lot already this year, and she's just a great person on top of being an amazing talent. So really excited for her, because I think the ceiling is really high for Maya.
"I don't see why she couldn't finish the year close to 30, 40."
As for her own form, Tomljaonvic, who looked as sharp on Monday as when she was reaching quarter-finals at Wimbledon (2021, 2022) and Flushing Meadows (2022), mused: "Really good question. I'm curious too.
"I'd be happy if I finished top 50, and I'm not being too tough on myself and not being like it's impossible. It's a good goal," added the veteran who's been as high as 32 a couple of years ago but is currently at 71.
When she's at her best, Tomljanovic can give any opponent a run for their money and Paolini, maybe still feeling a bit of a hangover after her Italian Open triumph, accepted after an "up and down" three-set opening win over Yue Yuan that she needs to improve.
For Tomljanovic is feeling good on the courts where she first made a major breakthrough as a Croatian teenager back in 2014, even before she made the move to Australia.
AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION ON DAY FOUR OF THE FRENCH OPEN (prefix denotes seeding)
Women
Ajla Tomljanovic v (4) Jasmine Paolini (ITA)
Men
(25) Alexei Popyrin v Alejandro Tabilo (CHI)
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