Latest news with #MayaJoint
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Alja Tomljanović winds back the clock as three Australians power into the French Open second round
Ajla Tomljanović needed to get "angry" as she handed teenage compatriot Maya Joint a first round defeat at the French Open on Monday. 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 pride of place went to Tomljanović, who at 32-years-old looked as sharp as she's ever done in outplaying the new teenage Morocco Open champion Joint 6-1 6-3. Joint, the 19-year-old Queenslander who's had a whirlwind 72 hours while winning her first two WTA titles in singles and doubles in Morocco, had defeated Tomljanović three days earlier in Rabat, when the 32-year-old former Australian number one pulled out when a set down with an abdominal concern. But the three-time grand slam quarter-finalist looked a completely different proposition on Monday as she switched to all-out attack against the 19-year-old French Open debutant on the faster Paris clay. Asked if she had a point to prove, Tomljanović 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 Tomljanović with a glamour tie against fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, the Italian who has become a big favourite with the locals since reaching the final last year. Kastakina, playing in her first slam since switching her allegiance from Russia in March, had to work hard to subdue the world's top doubles player, Czech Kateřina Siniaková, 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," the 2022 French Open semi-finalist said. Earlier, Popyrin had ended his nightmare sequence at Roland Garros for his first opening-round win at the clay-court slam 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," the 25th seed said, 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 got hammered 6-4 6-2 6-1 by rising Czech Jiří Lehečka. "The only positive from today is the body got through unscathed, but I guess that's because I copped a whipping," the 31-year-old said. Seeded opponents proved too much for O'Connell, beaten 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) by the number 22 seed Ugo Humbert, Vukic, defeated 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 by number 24 seed Karen Khachanov, and qualifier Saville, who was outclassed 6-2, 6-1 by Australian Open champ Madison Keys. Gold Coast's Kim Birrell also found the in-form Romanian Jaqueline Cristian, who'd been beaten by Joint in the Rabat final, in a different league in a 6-1 6-0 hammering. Thompson revealed that Nick Kyrgios was left crestfallen after a fresh knee injury forced him to abandon his planned return to action at the French Open, leaving more question marks over the luckless former Wimbledon finalist's future in the sport. Thompson, who had been set to play alongside Australia's great tennis maverick in his first Roland Garros for eight years, revealed the extent of his mate's misery with Kyrgios telling him he didn't know how much more he could take after his latest setback. "Nick was really pumped to play here. He kept messaging me every week, 'you good to go to for doubs at Roland Garros'," revealed Thompson, who had been struggling with a litany of injuries himself. "I know he was back home in Australia training on clay, but a few days ago, Nick told me that he's done something to his knee, so unfortunately, he just couldn't be here. "He was pretty down. He told me he doesn't know how much more of these injuries he can take, and you've just got to feel for him. "Because as much as he says things in the media, I think he loves playing tennis and he loves being on court, so it's disappointing that he can't be here on the court." Australia's former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios, whose recent career has become a stop-start affair riddled with injury concerns, had declared happily only a couple of weeks ago that he would reunite with Thompson, whose regular doubles partner Max Purcell is serving a ban for infringing doping regulations. The pair had played as juniors, finishing runners-up in the 2012 US Open. But when the draw was announced on Monday, it was confirmed Thompson would line up instead alongside fellow Aussie Jason Kubler for a first-round match on Tuesday against French pair Quentin Halys and Albano Olivetti. Kyrgios will be at Roland Garros, where he last competed in 2017 while reaching the second round, but only off-court as a TV commentator, as he increasingly turns his attention to media opportunities with time seemingly running out to resurrect his career at the age of 30. "Yeah. I'm hoping that he can play, but it just depends on how his knee is," Thompson said. Kyrgios, who's been plagued by knee and foot injuries and had reconstructive surgery on his racquet-wielding wrist, thought there was some light at the end of the tunnel when he won his first singles match for two-and-a-half years against American Mackenzie McDonald in Miami in March. AAP
Sydney Morning Herald
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Joint eyes Tomljanovic takedown
Maya Joint speaks about celebrations following her title win in Rabat and her first round match against fellow Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic.
The Age
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Joint eyes Tomljanovic takedown
Maya Joint speaks about celebrations following her title win in Rabat and her first round match against fellow Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Grim Aussie start but Joint venture lifts Paris gloom
Australia's newest tennis champ Maya Joint has breezed into Paris with a giggle, a slight air of disbelief but the unshakeable confidence of a fearless teen who quite fancies the idea of shocking everyone again with her first deep run at a grand slam. And the sight of the freshly minted 19-year-old Morocco Open champ excitedly taking a first hit on the Roland Garros clay on Sunday after a "crazy" couple of days when she won her first two WTA titles, in singles and doubles, felt just the pick-me-up the Aussies needed after a gloomy opening day wipe-out at the French Open. Wildcards Destanee Aiava, and Tristan Schoolkate both succumbed in straight sets on Sunday to hardened claycourt denizens while Rinky Hijikata's attempt at playing David to the giant American Reilly Opelka's Goliath didn't play to script either. But the good news? There'll be one Australian winner at least on Monday with Joint facing Ajla Tomljanovic, the battle-hardened former No.1 who the youngster has long looked up to. Yet though Joint cut a shy figure, sounding still a little amazed at what she's just achieved, it didn't stop her musing confidently here on Sunday: "I've definitely gained a lot of confidence from Rabat. Yeah, I think I can do well this week." There's been nothing bashful about her performances on court. Inscrutable behind her tinted shades, she displays the crisp hitting and clear thinking of a ruthless tennis veteran. She looks and sounds like a teen, just doesn't play like one. "It's really exciting. I was here once before for a junior doubles match but I never played in junior singles, I lost in quallies," she beamed after jetting in on Sunday. "I was thinking about Paris all last week, even when I was winning in Rabat.' Playing her mate's not ideal, though. "We've trained together quite a bit, travelled together and we're good friends, so it'll definitely be a difficult match, but a good match," she said of the clash with Tomljanovic, 13 years her senior. There are comparisons between the pair's introduction to Australian tennis. Tomljanovic switched her allegiance from Croatia to take advantage of the support of Tennis Australia over a decade ago and so has the US born-and-raised Joint, who's flourished since moving to Queensland. "Ajla's definitely given me a lot of advice and guidance," said Joint. "She's been really helpful to me, and I'm really lucky to have her as a friend. So, it's definitely gonna be difficult, but I'm excited. She's someone I've looked up to." On Thursday, Tomljanovic was a set down in Rabat when she withdrew to protect an abdominal complaint, but Joint's the favourite, really at home on the clay. Indeed, could she be that rarest of things - an Australian natural clay-courter? "Maybe," laughed the daughter of an Aussie dad and German mum. "I really enjoy clay. My grandparents live in Germany, so I went over there a lot in the summers and trained on the surface, so I'm pretty comfortable on it." More comfortable than the two Aussie wildcards on their French Open debuts, with Aiava succumbing 7-5 6-1 to Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska and Schoolkate losing 6-4 6-2 6-2 to Hungarian Marton Fucsovics. But Hijikata, who feels he's improved a lot on the surface, was left frustrated at going down to the tour's biggest man, the 2.11m, 102kg Opelka, 1-6 6-3 7-5 7-6 (7-3). AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION ON DAY TWO OF THE FRENCH OPEN (Prefix denotes seeding) WOMEN (17) Daria Kasatkina v Katerina Siniakova (CZE) Kim Birrell v Jaqueline Cristian (ROM) Ajla Tomljanovic v Maya Joint Daria Saville v (7) Madison Keys (USA) MEN (25) Alexei Popyrin v Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) Jordan Thompson v Jiri Lehecka (CZE) Aleksandar Vukic v (24) Karen Khachanov (RUS) Christopher O'Connell v (22) Ugo Humbert (FRA)
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Australian 19-year-old Maya Joint wins first WTA title ahead of French Open
Australian tennis has been given a major boost on the eve of the French Open after Maya Joint was crowned a WTA tour title winner in Morocco at the age of just 19. Joint collapsed to the clay in joy in Rabat on Saturdayafter outplaying Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 6-3, 6-2 in the Morocco Open final. As she prepared to fly off to Paris on Sunday to try to create more waves in her maiden French Open appearance, Joint beamed: 'I'm really excited that I was able to win a title here, and hopefully it'll be the first of many.' Joint's startling progress has delighted her 15 Australian colleagues who are already in Paris, with Alex de Minaur telling AAP: 'Maya's playing with a lot of confidence, and it's great to see. 'And as Aussies, there's nothing we love more than other Aussies doing well, so that's obviously very important, definitely brings up the morale and competitive juices of all the other teammates to keep on pushing for bigger and better things.' It was a rip-roaring display from the US-born daughter of an Australian father and German mother who has rocketed through the rankings in just 18 months since basing herself in Queensland. And it was the culmination of an extraordinary week in which she didn't drop a single set throughout the singles competition while also taking her maiden doubles title with Georgian Oksana Kalashnikova. 'Must be something about Morocco,' she said on court after the tough, breezy conditions and heat made it a test for both finalists. 'It's been an amazing week. The conditions really tested both of us.' Now it gets really interesting for the new champion as she faces a first-round encounter on Monday against fellow Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, who retired with an abdominal concern after losing the first set of their semi-final on Friday. 'Going to the French with this win under my belt gives me a lot of confidence,' she said. 'My game's improved so much over the past year and being able to play my first French Open is really exciting. I can't wait to get there.' Sign up to Australia Sport Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk after newsletter promotion Of her rematch with Tomljanovic, 13 years her senior, she added: 'It'll be a good match. It's always difficult to play another Aussie and and a friend, but we're both professionals, we'll be able to figure it out.' The win will rocket Joint up to 53rd in the WTA rankings – now firmly ensconced as Australia's No 2 behind Daria Kasatkina – which represents an astounding leap from where she started last year, at No 684. 'It's really weird to think back to a year ago, to where I was and where I am now. But I've done a lot of hard work to get here and I've just got to keep going,' she said. The Australian challenge will get under way on the opening day at Roland Garros on Sunday with wildcards Destanee Aiava and Tristan Schoolkate getting their first shot at Paris main draw action, while Rinky Hijikata will be out to reach the second round for the first time.
