Latest news with #Aussies'
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Young Nipper makes history for North Cott SLSC
A 13-year-old champion surf lifesaver from North Cottesloe is making waves across the country after taking home multiple medals from this year's Australian championships — something his coach said is 'unheard of'. Edward Wallis made a big splash at his first 'Aussies' in Queensland earlier this year, where he claimed two individual silver medals in sprints and flags events, was part of North Cott's triumphant U13 beach relay team and landed a bronze as part of his club's U13 mixed beach relay team. He backed up all that success on the Queensland sand by being named Nipper of the Year at Surf Life Saving WA's annual awards last month. Your local paper, whenever you want it. His coach for the past four summers, Renee Gibbs, said Edward's national achievements in his final year as a nippers competitor were a huge moment for the club. 'The Aussies are a lot more competitive than the State comp ... there's something like 5000 competitors in the Australian titles every year over in Queensland,' Mrs Gibbs said. Edward Wallis made a big splash at his first 'Aussies' in Queensland earlier this year. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper / Perth Now 'Edward got four medals at Aussies, which is unheard of really. It's an unbelievable result. 'And the team also won gold in the rally, which was one of the very first gold we've had, so it was a really amazing moment.' Edward praised his teammates for their success in the challenging conditions that Queensland threw up, which included event delays. 'It was in pretty difficult weather conditions and there were a lot of strong competitors from other States,' Edward said. 'WA has some strong runners and our North Cott relay team got gold, which was really fun to race in.' Edward is just five years into surf lifesaving, having first joined the North Cott SLSC after his parents thought it would be a good idea to build some water sense. I love competing. I do get nervous, but it is heaps of fun racing so I always look forward to the carnivals 'Nippers is such a great way for them to gain more experience in the water and have fun at the same time,' Edwards' father Jayden Wallis said. 'It's been an enjoyable outlet for Ed and he is keen to keep pursuing the sport into the senior ranks.' Next summer Edward moves up from Nippers to the cadet program at North Cottesloe, where he will look to attain his surf rescue certificate and compete in more carnivals. 'I love competing. I do get nervous, but it is heaps of fun racing so I always look forward to the carnivals,' he said. 'I'm really looking forward to being able to do patrols, train and compete again next year.' Mrs Gibbs and her husband have coached North Cottesloe nippers for several years to help youngsters with their beach safety and to foster WA's surf life saving community. 'Joining a surf club is all about being part of a team ... it's really nurturing, really supportive and just a fun kind of environment,' she said. 'And that's something Edward really understands ... I think he loves that it's not all about him, you know, it's actually about the club and the team.'
Sky News AU
6 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
‘Modern day Robin Hood': Treasurer Jim Chalmers set to get backing from Greens on super tax as Coalition rip the reforms as ‘immoral'
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is set to negotiate superannuation tax reforms with the Greens for a Senate victory as the Coalition continue to rip into the "immoral" overhaul, labelling the Treasurer a 'modern day Robin Hood'. Mr Chalmers argued that proponents of abstract tax reforms 'very rarely' support it in reality. The Treasurer has suggested the government will push on with its tax reforms regardless of the Coalition's concerns with aspects of the proposal. On Thursday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggested a compromise with Coalition was still on the cards. 'The Greens usually don't have good points, and I will allow them to put forward whatever they want to do, as the Liberal Party will, as will other senators, no doubt,' Mr Albanese told journalists in Melbourne. 'We'll put forward our position. That was before the senate for some time. 'It did not receive support prior to the election, but then again, the Greens and the Liberals joined to form the 'No-alition', and to vote against public housing, to vote against a whole range of projects, we'll wait and see." Deputy Liberal Leader Ted O'Brien said the Labor government was not indexing the super tax for balances over $3 million which would lead to younger Australians and 'everyday Aussies' getting 'caught in the net over time'. 'Every aspect of this is looking awful, and it certainly does not align with our values as a Liberal Party or indeed a Liberal-National Coalition,' Mr O'Brien told the ABC on Thursday. 'The Treasurer is not being upfront about that and the reason he's not is he's wanting to pretend he's sort of some modern-day Robin Hood, taking from the fat cats with multi-million dollar portfolios to fund the good deeds of government.' On Wednesday evening, the Treasurer said he was 'not convinced' the opposition were 'fair dinkum' about making superannuation tax concessions fairer. 'We'll obviously have discussions with other parties in the Senate to do what we can to pass that legislation. It's a change that we announced almost two and a half years ago. It is modest, it is methodical, but it makes a meaningful difference to the budget,' he said. 'In a world where the budget is not sustainable enough when it comes to the pressures that the ageing of our population, pressures on the health system, the NDIS and all the rest of it. It's an important budget repair measure and we intend to proceed with it.' Mr Chalmers explained the tax concession before the change on balances over $3 million was about $14 thousand, with the new reform still offering a tax saving, but a more 'modest' one of $13 thousand. The Treasurer said his political opponents have 'latched onto' the earning method proposed by the Treasury for earning more than $3 million. 'I'm obviously aware of the campaign that some of our political opponents and others have been running, but nobody's come forward with a better way to do it. And so we're proposing to go with what the Treasury has recommended to us,' he said. Mr O'Brien said it was 'not right' because the measure lacked an indexing framework which meant a young person today, earning an average salary, would hit the threshold at some point. 'The Australian workforce today is around 14 million, so for the Treasurer to say it only takes a few Australians on with this, no, it's not. That's not the truth at all. If it were true, he would have indexed this but he hasn't indexed it because he wants it to grow,' Mr O'Brien said. 'He wants more Australians to be taxed. We are against Australians having to cop higher taxes … if he wants to hurt Australians with higher taxes at this stage, well, that's on him.' Speaking to Sky News First Edition host Pete Stefanovic on Thursday morning, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said her party had not talked with the government about the super reforms but wanted to see reform to the system to make it 'fairer and stronger'. Ms Hanson-Young said the Greens wanted to see the threshold lowered to $2 million, and indexed. 'The ball is in the government's court. We're not going to negotiate through the media with all due respect, Peter, but it's quite clear that the Coalition are in an absolute mess on this,' she said. 'Only a day or so ago we saw Ted O'Brien putting out the feelers saying he wanted to deal with Jim Chalmers and government. He's clearly been pulled back into line, you know, whipped back in place… someone's told him to pull his head in.' Ms Hanson-Young continued to chide the Coalition and said the opposition was 'all over the place' and 'desperate for a scare campaign' rather than a real critique of Labor's new tax proposal. 'It's going to be a circus going forward,' she said. Joining the conversation, Nationals MP Kevin Hogan said there was never going to be a negotiation on taxing unrealised gains, labelling the proposal 'immoral'. 'Obviously non-indexing that is not okay either because obviously the amount of people that would get affected by that would be enormous,' he said.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tomljanovic owns the Joint amid Aussie Paris hat-trick
As if stung by all the hoopla over the country's newest tennis star Maya Joint, the evergreen Ajla Tomljanovic got "angry" and reminded Australia of her own enduring quality as she handed a lesson to her teenage pal at the French Open. On a day when Alexei Popyrin ended his Roland Garros drought and Daria Kasatkina savoured her first grand slam win under the Australian flag, the sight of three of the green-and-gold brigade powering into the second round even before Alex de Minaur makes his bow on Tuesday quite atoned for the miserable opening-day wipe-out. With nine in action on a manic Monday in Paris, there were inevitably casualties littered around the Aussies' perennial red tennis graveyard with Aleksandar Vukic, Chris O'Connell, Daria Saville, Kim Birrell and a battered Jordan Thompson all succumbing. But Tomljanovic, who at 32 looked as sharp as she's ever done, bucked the trend in outplaying the new teenage Morocco Open champion Joint 6-1 6-3. The 19-year-old Queenslander, who had a whirlwind 72 hours while winning her first two WTA titles in singles and doubles in Morocco, beat Tomljanovic three days earlier in Rabat, when the former Australian No.1 pulled out when a set down to protect an abdominal concern. But the three-time grand slam quarter-finalist emerged a completely different proposition on Monday, switching to all-out attack against the French Open debutant on the faster Paris clay. Asked if she had a point to prove, Tomljanovic explained: "My coach kind of gave me a really good pep talk - 'You've got to get angry, get determined' - and it really worked today. "Maya had been playing so well, I had a few days to think about it and knew if I don't come out this way on the attack, it's going to be really tough. It's just nice to see everything pay off when I play the right way." The victory sets up Tomljanovic with a glamour tie against fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, the little Italian who's become a big favourite with the locals since reaching the final last year. Daria Kasatkina prevails despite tough adversity from Katerina Siniakova 💪#RolandGarros — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 26, 2025 Kastakina, playing her first slam since switching allegiance from Russia in March, had to work hard to subdue the world's top doubles player, Czech Katerina Siniakova, 6-1 3-6 6-2. "To play my first grand slam under the Australian flag, it's big honour. Yeah, just feel super happy and proud to also win the first match," said the former semi-finalist. Earlier, Popyrin ended his nightmare sequence at Roland Garros for his first opening-round win there in six years as he was in command against Yoshihito Nishioka until the doughty Japanese had to retire with an injured back while trailing 7-5 6-4 1-2. After Sunday's first-day wipe-out with all three Australians exiting, Popyrin reckoned it was a "nice feeling" to break the duck for the 16-strong green-and-gold contingent, the biggest at Roland Garros for 35 years. "I feel like my game is starting to come back to me, the results are starting to show a bit more, there's more consistency and match wins every week. That's really important," said the 25th seed, who tackles another left-hander, Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, next. Thompson bemoaned another blip in a "brutal season" during which he's suffered a ruptured plantar fascia in his foot, a torn oblique and a groin injury as he was hammered 6-4 6-2 6-1 by rising Czech Jiri Lehecka. "The only positive from today is the body got through unscathed, but I guess that's because I copped a whipping," lamented the 31-year-old. Seeded opponents proved too much for O'Connell, beaten 7-5 6-3 7-6 (7-3) by the No.22 Ugo Humbert, Vukic, defeated 6-4 6-4 6-4 by No.24 Karen Khachanov, and qualifier Saville, who was outclassed 6-2 6-1 by Australian Open champ Madison Keys. Gold Coast's Birrell also found the in-form Romanian Jaqueline Cristian, beaten by Joint in the Rabat final, in a different league in a 6-1 6-0 hammering. Thompson also revealed Nick Kyrgios had been left "down" by having to withdraw from his planned return with his mate in the men's doubles, ending the prospect of the former Wimbledon finalist's first competitive Roland Garros outing for eight years.
The Advertiser
27-05-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Tomljanovic owns the Joint amid Aussie Paris hat-trick
As if stung by all the hoopla over the country's newest tennis star Maya Joint, the evergreen Ajla Tomljanovic got "angry" and reminded Australia of her own enduring quality as she handed a lesson to her teenage pal at the French Open. On a day when Alexei Popyrin ended his Roland Garros drought and Daria Kasatkina savoured her first grand slam win under the Australian flag, the sight of three of the green-and-gold brigade powering into the second round even before Alex de Minaur makes his bow on Tuesday quite atoned for the miserable opening-day wipe-out. With nine in action on a manic Monday in Paris, there were inevitably casualties littered around the Aussies' perennial red tennis graveyard with Aleksandar Vukic, Chris O'Connell, Daria Saville, Kim Birrell and a battered Jordan Thompson all succumbing. But Tomljanovic, who at 32 looked as sharp as she's ever done, bucked the trend in outplaying the new teenage Morocco Open champion Joint 6-1 6-3. The 19-year-old Queenslander, who had a whirlwind 72 hours while winning her first two WTA titles in singles and doubles in Morocco, beat Tomljanovic three days earlier in Rabat, when the former Australian No.1 pulled out when a set down to protect an abdominal concern. But the three-time grand slam quarter-finalist emerged a completely different proposition on Monday, switching to all-out attack against the French Open debutant on the faster Paris clay. Asked if she had a point to prove, Tomljanovic explained: "My coach kind of gave me a really good pep talk - 'You've got to get angry, get determined' - and it really worked today. "Maya had been playing so well, I had a few days to think about it and knew if I don't come out this way on the attack, it's going to be really tough. It's just nice to see everything pay off when I play the right way." The victory sets up Tomljanovic with a glamour tie against fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, the little Italian who's become a big favourite with the locals since reaching the final last year. Kastakina, playing her first slam since switching allegiance from Russia in March, had to work hard to subdue the world's top doubles player, Czech Katerina Siniakova, 6-1 3-6 6-2. "To play my first grand slam under the Australian flag, it's big honour. Yeah, just feel super happy and proud to also win the first match," said the former semi-finalist. Earlier, Popyrin ended his nightmare sequence at Roland Garros for his first opening-round win there in six years as he was in command against Yoshihito Nishioka until the doughty Japanese had to retire with an injured back while trailing 7-5 6-4 1-2. After Sunday's first-day wipe-out with all three Australians exiting, Popyrin reckoned it was a "nice feeling" to break the duck for the 16-strong green-and-gold contingent, the biggest at Roland Garros for 35 years. "I feel like my game is starting to come back to me, the results are starting to show a bit more, there's more consistency and match wins every week. That's really important," said the 25th seed, who tackles another left-hander, Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, next. Thompson bemoaned another blip in a "brutal season" during which he's suffered a ruptured plantar fascia in his foot, a torn oblique and a groin injury as he was hammered 6-4 6-2 6-1 by rising Czech Jiri Lehecka. "The only positive from today is the body got through unscathed, but I guess that's because I copped a whipping," lamented the 31-year-old. Seeded opponents proved too much for O'Connell, beaten 7-5 6-3 7-6 (7-3) by the No.22 Ugo Humbert, Vukic, defeated 6-4 6-4 6-4 by No.24 Karen Khachanov, and qualifier Saville, who was outclassed 6-2 6-1 by Australian Open champ Madison Keys. Gold Coast's Birrell also found the in-form Romanian Jaqueline Cristian, beaten by Joint in the Rabat final, in a different league in a 6-1 6-0 hammering. Thompson also revealed Nick Kyrgios had been left "down" by having to withdraw from his planned return with his mate in the men's doubles, ending the prospect of the former Wimbledon finalist's first competitive Roland Garros outing for eight years. As if stung by all the hoopla over the country's newest tennis star Maya Joint, the evergreen Ajla Tomljanovic got "angry" and reminded Australia of her own enduring quality as she handed a lesson to her teenage pal at the French Open. On a day when Alexei Popyrin ended his Roland Garros drought and Daria Kasatkina savoured her first grand slam win under the Australian flag, the sight of three of the green-and-gold brigade powering into the second round even before Alex de Minaur makes his bow on Tuesday quite atoned for the miserable opening-day wipe-out. With nine in action on a manic Monday in Paris, there were inevitably casualties littered around the Aussies' perennial red tennis graveyard with Aleksandar Vukic, Chris O'Connell, Daria Saville, Kim Birrell and a battered Jordan Thompson all succumbing. But Tomljanovic, who at 32 looked as sharp as she's ever done, bucked the trend in outplaying the new teenage Morocco Open champion Joint 6-1 6-3. The 19-year-old Queenslander, who had a whirlwind 72 hours while winning her first two WTA titles in singles and doubles in Morocco, beat Tomljanovic three days earlier in Rabat, when the former Australian No.1 pulled out when a set down to protect an abdominal concern. But the three-time grand slam quarter-finalist emerged a completely different proposition on Monday, switching to all-out attack against the French Open debutant on the faster Paris clay. Asked if she had a point to prove, Tomljanovic explained: "My coach kind of gave me a really good pep talk - 'You've got to get angry, get determined' - and it really worked today. "Maya had been playing so well, I had a few days to think about it and knew if I don't come out this way on the attack, it's going to be really tough. It's just nice to see everything pay off when I play the right way." The victory sets up Tomljanovic with a glamour tie against fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, the little Italian who's become a big favourite with the locals since reaching the final last year. Kastakina, playing her first slam since switching allegiance from Russia in March, had to work hard to subdue the world's top doubles player, Czech Katerina Siniakova, 6-1 3-6 6-2. "To play my first grand slam under the Australian flag, it's big honour. Yeah, just feel super happy and proud to also win the first match," said the former semi-finalist. Earlier, Popyrin ended his nightmare sequence at Roland Garros for his first opening-round win there in six years as he was in command against Yoshihito Nishioka until the doughty Japanese had to retire with an injured back while trailing 7-5 6-4 1-2. After Sunday's first-day wipe-out with all three Australians exiting, Popyrin reckoned it was a "nice feeling" to break the duck for the 16-strong green-and-gold contingent, the biggest at Roland Garros for 35 years. "I feel like my game is starting to come back to me, the results are starting to show a bit more, there's more consistency and match wins every week. That's really important," said the 25th seed, who tackles another left-hander, Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, next. Thompson bemoaned another blip in a "brutal season" during which he's suffered a ruptured plantar fascia in his foot, a torn oblique and a groin injury as he was hammered 6-4 6-2 6-1 by rising Czech Jiri Lehecka. "The only positive from today is the body got through unscathed, but I guess that's because I copped a whipping," lamented the 31-year-old. Seeded opponents proved too much for O'Connell, beaten 7-5 6-3 7-6 (7-3) by the No.22 Ugo Humbert, Vukic, defeated 6-4 6-4 6-4 by No.24 Karen Khachanov, and qualifier Saville, who was outclassed 6-2 6-1 by Australian Open champ Madison Keys. Gold Coast's Birrell also found the in-form Romanian Jaqueline Cristian, beaten by Joint in the Rabat final, in a different league in a 6-1 6-0 hammering. Thompson also revealed Nick Kyrgios had been left "down" by having to withdraw from his planned return with his mate in the men's doubles, ending the prospect of the former Wimbledon finalist's first competitive Roland Garros outing for eight years. As if stung by all the hoopla over the country's newest tennis star Maya Joint, the evergreen Ajla Tomljanovic got "angry" and reminded Australia of her own enduring quality as she handed a lesson to her teenage pal at the French Open. On a day when Alexei Popyrin ended his Roland Garros drought and Daria Kasatkina savoured her first grand slam win under the Australian flag, the sight of three of the green-and-gold brigade powering into the second round even before Alex de Minaur makes his bow on Tuesday quite atoned for the miserable opening-day wipe-out. With nine in action on a manic Monday in Paris, there were inevitably casualties littered around the Aussies' perennial red tennis graveyard with Aleksandar Vukic, Chris O'Connell, Daria Saville, Kim Birrell and a battered Jordan Thompson all succumbing. But Tomljanovic, who at 32 looked as sharp as she's ever done, bucked the trend in outplaying the new teenage Morocco Open champion Joint 6-1 6-3. The 19-year-old Queenslander, who had a whirlwind 72 hours while winning her first two WTA titles in singles and doubles in Morocco, beat Tomljanovic three days earlier in Rabat, when the former Australian No.1 pulled out when a set down to protect an abdominal concern. But the three-time grand slam quarter-finalist emerged a completely different proposition on Monday, switching to all-out attack against the French Open debutant on the faster Paris clay. Asked if she had a point to prove, Tomljanovic explained: "My coach kind of gave me a really good pep talk - 'You've got to get angry, get determined' - and it really worked today. "Maya had been playing so well, I had a few days to think about it and knew if I don't come out this way on the attack, it's going to be really tough. It's just nice to see everything pay off when I play the right way." The victory sets up Tomljanovic with a glamour tie against fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, the little Italian who's become a big favourite with the locals since reaching the final last year. Kastakina, playing her first slam since switching allegiance from Russia in March, had to work hard to subdue the world's top doubles player, Czech Katerina Siniakova, 6-1 3-6 6-2. "To play my first grand slam under the Australian flag, it's big honour. Yeah, just feel super happy and proud to also win the first match," said the former semi-finalist. Earlier, Popyrin ended his nightmare sequence at Roland Garros for his first opening-round win there in six years as he was in command against Yoshihito Nishioka until the doughty Japanese had to retire with an injured back while trailing 7-5 6-4 1-2. After Sunday's first-day wipe-out with all three Australians exiting, Popyrin reckoned it was a "nice feeling" to break the duck for the 16-strong green-and-gold contingent, the biggest at Roland Garros for 35 years. "I feel like my game is starting to come back to me, the results are starting to show a bit more, there's more consistency and match wins every week. That's really important," said the 25th seed, who tackles another left-hander, Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, next. Thompson bemoaned another blip in a "brutal season" during which he's suffered a ruptured plantar fascia in his foot, a torn oblique and a groin injury as he was hammered 6-4 6-2 6-1 by rising Czech Jiri Lehecka. "The only positive from today is the body got through unscathed, but I guess that's because I copped a whipping," lamented the 31-year-old. Seeded opponents proved too much for O'Connell, beaten 7-5 6-3 7-6 (7-3) by the No.22 Ugo Humbert, Vukic, defeated 6-4 6-4 6-4 by No.24 Karen Khachanov, and qualifier Saville, who was outclassed 6-2 6-1 by Australian Open champ Madison Keys. Gold Coast's Birrell also found the in-form Romanian Jaqueline Cristian, beaten by Joint in the Rabat final, in a different league in a 6-1 6-0 hammering. Thompson also revealed Nick Kyrgios had been left "down" by having to withdraw from his planned return with his mate in the men's doubles, ending the prospect of the former Wimbledon finalist's first competitive Roland Garros outing for eight years. As if stung by all the hoopla over the country's newest tennis star Maya Joint, the evergreen Ajla Tomljanovic got "angry" and reminded Australia of her own enduring quality as she handed a lesson to her teenage pal at the French Open. On a day when Alexei Popyrin ended his Roland Garros drought and Daria Kasatkina savoured her first grand slam win under the Australian flag, the sight of three of the green-and-gold brigade powering into the second round even before Alex de Minaur makes his bow on Tuesday quite atoned for the miserable opening-day wipe-out. With nine in action on a manic Monday in Paris, there were inevitably casualties littered around the Aussies' perennial red tennis graveyard with Aleksandar Vukic, Chris O'Connell, Daria Saville, Kim Birrell and a battered Jordan Thompson all succumbing. But Tomljanovic, who at 32 looked as sharp as she's ever done, bucked the trend in outplaying the new teenage Morocco Open champion Joint 6-1 6-3. The 19-year-old Queenslander, who had a whirlwind 72 hours while winning her first two WTA titles in singles and doubles in Morocco, beat Tomljanovic three days earlier in Rabat, when the former Australian No.1 pulled out when a set down to protect an abdominal concern. But the three-time grand slam quarter-finalist emerged a completely different proposition on Monday, switching to all-out attack against the French Open debutant on the faster Paris clay. Asked if she had a point to prove, Tomljanovic explained: "My coach kind of gave me a really good pep talk - 'You've got to get angry, get determined' - and it really worked today. "Maya had been playing so well, I had a few days to think about it and knew if I don't come out this way on the attack, it's going to be really tough. It's just nice to see everything pay off when I play the right way." The victory sets up Tomljanovic with a glamour tie against fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, the little Italian who's become a big favourite with the locals since reaching the final last year. Kastakina, playing her first slam since switching allegiance from Russia in March, had to work hard to subdue the world's top doubles player, Czech Katerina Siniakova, 6-1 3-6 6-2. "To play my first grand slam under the Australian flag, it's big honour. Yeah, just feel super happy and proud to also win the first match," said the former semi-finalist. Earlier, Popyrin ended his nightmare sequence at Roland Garros for his first opening-round win there in six years as he was in command against Yoshihito Nishioka until the doughty Japanese had to retire with an injured back while trailing 7-5 6-4 1-2. After Sunday's first-day wipe-out with all three Australians exiting, Popyrin reckoned it was a "nice feeling" to break the duck for the 16-strong green-and-gold contingent, the biggest at Roland Garros for 35 years. "I feel like my game is starting to come back to me, the results are starting to show a bit more, there's more consistency and match wins every week. That's really important," said the 25th seed, who tackles another left-hander, Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, next. Thompson bemoaned another blip in a "brutal season" during which he's suffered a ruptured plantar fascia in his foot, a torn oblique and a groin injury as he was hammered 6-4 6-2 6-1 by rising Czech Jiri Lehecka. "The only positive from today is the body got through unscathed, but I guess that's because I copped a whipping," lamented the 31-year-old. Seeded opponents proved too much for O'Connell, beaten 7-5 6-3 7-6 (7-3) by the No.22 Ugo Humbert, Vukic, defeated 6-4 6-4 6-4 by No.24 Karen Khachanov, and qualifier Saville, who was outclassed 6-2 6-1 by Australian Open champ Madison Keys. Gold Coast's Birrell also found the in-form Romanian Jaqueline Cristian, beaten by Joint in the Rabat final, in a different league in a 6-1 6-0 hammering. Thompson also revealed Nick Kyrgios had been left "down" by having to withdraw from his planned return with his mate in the men's doubles, ending the prospect of the former Wimbledon finalist's first competitive Roland Garros outing for eight years.
7NEWS
26-05-2025
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Ajla Tomljanovic gets ‘angry' to beat Maya Joint in all-Aussie rematch at French Open
As if stung by all the hoopla over the country's newest tennis star Maya Joint, the evergreen Ajla Tomljanovic got 'angry' and reminded Australia of her own enduring quality as she handed a lesson to her teenage pal at the French Open. On a day when Alexei Popyrin ended his Roland Garros drought and Daria Kasatkina savoured her first grand slam win under the Australian flag, the sight of three of the green-and-gold brigade powering into the second round even before Alex de Minaur makes his bow on Tuesday quite atoned for the miserable opening-day wipe-out. With nine in action on a manic Monday in Paris, there were inevitably casualties littered around the Aussies' perennial red tennis graveyard with Aleksandar Vukic, Chris O'Connell, Daria Saville, Kim Birrell and a battered Jordan Thompson all succumbing. But Tomljanovic, who at 32 looked as sharp as she's ever done, bucked the trend in outplaying the new teenage Morocco Open champion Joint 6-1 6-3. Joint, the 19-year-old Queenslander who had a whirlwind 72 hours while winning her first two WTA titles in singles and doubles in Morocco, beat Tomljanovic three days earlier in Rabat, when the former Australian No.1 pulled out when a set down to protect an abdominal concern. But the three-time grand slam quarter-finalist emerged a completely different proposition on Monday, switching to all-out attack against the French Open debutant on the faster Paris clay. Asked if she had a point to prove, Tomljanovic explained: 'My coach kind of gave me a really good pep talk - 'You've got to get angry, get determined' - and it really worked today. 'Maya had been playing so well, I had a few days to think about it and knew if I don't come out this way on the attack, it's going to be really tough. It's just nice to see everything pay off when I play the right way.' The victory sets up Tomljanovic with a glamour tie against fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, the little Italian who's become a big favourite with the locals since reaching the final last year. Kastakina, playing her first slam since switching allegiance from Russia in March, had to work hard to subdue the world's top doubles player, Czech Katerina Siniakova, 6-1 3-6 6-2. 'To play my first grand slam under the Australian flag, it's big honour. Yeah, just feel super happy and proud to also win the first match,' said the former semi-finalist. Earlier, Popyrin ended his nightmare sequence at Roland Garros for his first opening-round win there in six years as he was in command against Yoshihito Nishioka until the doughty Japanese had to retire with an injured back while trailing 7-5 6-4 1-2. After Sunday's first-day wipe-out with all three Australians exiting, Popyrin reckoned it was a 'nice feeling' to break the duck for the 16-strong green-and-gold contingent, the biggest at Roland Garros for 35 years. 'I feel like my game is starting to come back to me, the results are starting to show a bit more, there's more consistency and match wins every week. That's really important,' said the 25th seed, who tackles another left-hander, Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, next. Thompson bemoaned another blip in a 'brutal season' during which he's suffered a ruptured plantar fascia in his foot, a torn oblique and a groin injury as he was hammered 6-4 6-2 6-1 by rising Czech Jiri Lehecka. 'The only positive from today is the body got through unscathed, but I guess that's because I copped a whipping,' lamented the 31-year-old. Seeded opponents proved too much for O'Connell, beaten 7-5 6-3 7-6 (7-3) by the No.22 Ugo Humbert, Vukic, defeated 6-4 6-4 6-4 by No.24 Karen Khachanov, and qualifier Saville, who was outclassed 6-2 6-1 by Australian Open champ Madison Keys. Gold Coast's Birrell also found the in-form Romanian Jaqueline Cristian, beaten by Joint in the Rabat final, in a different league in a 6-1 6-0 hammering. Thompson also revealed Nick Kyrgios had been left 'down' by having to withdraw from his planned return with his mate in the men's doubles, ending the prospect of the former Wimbledon finalist's first competitive Roland Garros outing for eight years.
