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Australian Open: Aleks Vukic scores major opening round upset

Marc McGowanNCA NewsWire

Late-blooming Sydneysider Aleks Vukic’s breakout summer now includes his maiden grand slam triumph in what he described as a “dream” result.

Fresh from reaching the first ATP Tour quarter-final of his career, Vukic recovered from losing the first set against 30th-seeded South African Lloyd Harris to score an upset 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-6 (7-3) victory.

Vukic didn’t shy away from what the moment meant to him, celebrating with gusto after Harris dumped a forehand into the net to seal his fate.

The 25-year-old wildcard will next meet Moldovan qualifier Radu Albot in what shapes as a huge opportunity for one of them to advance to the round of 32.

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“I’m over the moon to have won my first grand slam main draw match, and to do it on that court (three) especially,” Vukic said.

“It was one of the loudest atmospheres I’ve ever seen, to be honest, and it was all for me and all for the Aussies and I couldn’t have done it without them – it’s a dream.

“You grow up as a kid watching that court and watching the pros and I never thought it’d become a reality.”

Vukic, who honed his craft in American college tennis, had the worst possible start when he erroneously left a ball he thought was going out to concede a break in the opening game.

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That was all Harris, who outlasted another Australian, Alexei Popyrin, in a tense five-setter in the second round last year, needed to cruise to a one-set lead.

The contest began to swing in the 144th-ranked Vukic’s favour in the second set, but it wasn’t until his fifth break point – after failing to capitalise on four in the second game – that he was rewarded.

2022 Australian Open Tennis
Camera IconAustralian Aleksandar Vukic wins his match against Lloyd Harris of South Africa on Court 3. David Caird Credit: News Corp Australia

The Aussie went on the attack, rifling a forehand that Harris couldn’t retrieve, sparking a vigorous reaction from him as he soon levelled the match.

Vukic escaped some dicey moments in the third set, including saving a set point with a brilliant crosscourt backhand with Harris stationed at the net.

As became the norm, Vukic was better at converting his opportunities and snatched the break in the 11th game, when Harris misfired on his forehand.

He was well on top once the fourth set began but couldn’t drive home the advantage from three break points across Harris’ first two service games.

But another wild Harris forehand – one of 58 unforced errors – gifted Vukic a 3-1 lead in the tiebreak, with the Australian skipping across the baseline in delight.

2022 Australian Open Tennis
Camera IconAleks Vukic won his first grand slam match at the Australian Open on Monday. David Caird Credit: News Corp Australia

Vukic showed no sign of nerves and a brave, change-of-direction backhand earned him a match point that he duly converted.

He credited his strong form on the secondary Challenger Tour late last year and improved mentality as the impetus for his impressive start to the new season.

“I was kind of racking up matches and playing well and I was in a really good head space, so I’ve continued that,” Vukic said.

“I always thought the level (to the best players) wasn’t as big of a difference, but these guys are more consistently playing at a level and I’m hitting that consistency a little bit more.”

While Vukics was celebrating, however, fellow Aussie James Duckworth didn’t fare as well with with veteran Frenchman Adrian Mannarino rallying from two-sets-to-one down to win their five-setter 6-4 2-6 3-6 6-2 6-1.

Mannarino struck early in the deciding set, reducing the Australian to 15-40 in the second game before a superb, blocked backhand return beat Duckworth for a winner.

It was a blow the 29-year-old never recovered from despite creating a slight opening in the following game.

Duckworth’s five-set record at his home grand slam slips to 2-3 – including back-to-back matches in 2013 – and he ends a hopeful Australian summer without a win from three matches.

He lost his two matches at the ATP Cup to Adelaide finalist Arthur Rinderknech and Russia’s Roman Safiullin, who went down in final-round Australian Open qualifying.

Duckworth made his top-50 debut late last year on the back of an extended purple patch post the US Open that made him Australia’s second-ranked man.