The final day of the Australian Open wildcard playoffs saw jubilation for the youngsters with Omar Jasika and Jaimee Fourlis triumphing in the finals.
Former US Open boys’ champion Jasika recovered from a two-set deficit in his first round match against third seed Marinko Matosevic before charging to the final of the tournament. Facing fifth seed John Patrick-Smith, the 19-year-old battled back from a set down to win 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-0, 6-4, booking his place at the upcoming grand slam. It was a far from smooth match for Jasika, who received a point penalty during the first set tiebreak for smashing his racket on the ground.
“It was a close first set,” Jasika said.
“I was trying to keep my cool as much as I can … [the racquet smash] released a lot of anger.
“When the new balls came out in the second set I started to find more rhythm … I started not missing a lot.”
It will be the second consecutive year that Jasika has played in the main draw at Melbourne Park. This year he defeated Illya Marchenko to reach the second round before losing in straight sets to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Joining Jasika in Melbourne will be world No.425 Fourlis. The 17-year-old, who downed Olivia Tjandramulia on her way to the final, triumphed in the women’s competition after enduring two close sets against Abbie Myers, winning 7-6(6), 7-5.
“It’s a surreal feeling right now. I haven’t really thought about that yet,” said Fourlis.
“It doesn’t really happen every day, so it’s an incredible feeling.
“I’m not really sure (how I’ll prepare over the next few weeks).
“I’ll hopefully have a couple of days off and Christmas off and spend time with my family.”
Seeded third in the tournament, Fourlis has only won one ITF title in her pro career at a $25,000 event in Perth. Sunday’s win takes the former top-40 junior player in to her first ever grand slam main draw.
Both Jasika and Fourlis are guaranteed prize money a paycheck of at least A$38,500 for reaching the Melbourne main draw, however, this amount to is set to rise in 2017.
See you both in January, @jaimeef17 & @OJasika!#AOPlayoff #ausopen pic.twitter.com/tY0cM4rAdd
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) 18 December 2016
