Good thing Robin Montgomery didn’t notice Frances Tiafoe, a player she considers “like an older brother”, dropping in briefly on her opening Australian Open qualifying win at the far reaches of Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
Behind the two rows of seats in the intimate surrounds of Court 12, Tiafoe made a brief stop on his way to prepare for practice early in the second set of the 20-year-old’s 6-2 6-1 victory over Slovenian Polona Hercog.
Fortunately for both locals of the Washington D.C. area, only a scattering of young fans were distracted enough to pursue Tiafoe’s autograph.
“Thank God I didn't see him,” Montgomery said. “I'm glad he kept a low profile. I saw on the practice board that he was hitting on Court 10 at 2.30pm and I was like ‘I have to finish before 2.30pm. I'm not going to be able to focus if he's practising next to me’.”
Confidence was already high for the American following her run to the semifinals in Auckland last week, but having a famous face or not courtside, the world No.105 preferred that those closest to her stuck around for the entire match, which incidentally wrapped up before the 2.30pm mark.
“It’s just if they're going to watch I'd like to know beforehand and I'm kind of particular,” she laughed. “Once you come to the match, I want them to try their best to stay for their entire match. I don't like people leaving.”
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Tiafoe’s ascent from his days as a junior world No.1 training at the same base in Maryland, just outside D.C, to a dual US Open semifinalist has been a proud journey for Montgomery to follow.
The pair had even established common ground over the world No.17’s struggle to crack the ATP top 100 at the same age.
“It's amazing. We got kind of close when he was really at College Park,” Montgomery said. “I was still too young, so I was probably like a blip to him, but when I was around 13 we started getting really close and it's great seeing his successes and honestly just motivates me more because he's a great guy.
“I like seeing him on tour, so my goal is to get to the tournaments so we can both be there at the same time.”
Tiafoe is not the only high-profile friend whose climb Montgomery has cheered on since she was first earmarked as a junior prospect.
Though Coco Gauff didn’t grow up just down the road as Tiafoe did, the world No.3 still developed a close friendship with her peer through junior tennis.
“I've known her since I was like 10,” Montgomery said. “I trained with her a little bit in Florida in December. It's always good times. She needed a lefty to hit with because in United Cup she had to play [Leylah] Fernandez first and it worked out well.
“She's still the same person. I think it's great that she is. She's always been a great person even since we were 10.”
Montgomery’s compatriot and top seed, Alycia Parks, was not so fortunate in her quest for a qualifying win.
Sweden’s Mirjam Bjorklund capitalised on 44 unforced errors from the 24-year-old for a 6-2 6-3 victory.
It marked a significant step forward for the former world No.123, who used a protected ranking having returned to the tour last April following eight months out due to a foot injury and neck surgery.
“I have only played five tournaments the last 18 months due to surgery. I wasn't really expecting this so I'm thrilled,” Bjorklund said.
“Alycia is a great player. I was kind of expecting her to come up with something new or something different. She definitely made me play even more in the second, but it's always tough to close, so I just try to keep my cool and try to play my game.
“I feel about 10 years older after the surgery so I'm just trying to take it day by day, trying to recover as best as I can unfortunately. An ice bath is waiting for me.”
The 26-year-old has qualified at the other three majors but the furthest she has progressed at Melbourne Park is the final round of qualifying.
A main-draw berth would complete the box set. Next up is Croatian Lucija Ciric Bagaric.
“I mean that's my goal. It would be really cool to qualify for all four,” she said. “It's not that easy. There's a lot of great players and I know it's going to be a tough task this time as well, but I’m going to really try my best and hopefully I'll get it.”
In other results, fourth seed and former world No.5 Sara Errani fought back against the 2023 junior champion, 17-year-old Alina Korneeva, 2-6 6-3 6-3 to set a second-round meeting with another 17-year-old, Brenda Fruhvirtova.
Spanish fifth seed Sara Sorribes Tormo survived a three-hour, 43-minute ordeal to overcome Australian wildcard Jaimee Fourlis 7-6(5) 5-7 6-4, while Fourlis’ ninth-seeded compatriot Kimberly Birrell moved past Japan’s Sara Saito 7-6(45) 6-2.
Sunday’s Brisbane International finalist, sixth seed Polina Kudermetova, also opened with a win over Swiss Susan Bandecchi, while last year’s junior champion Renata Jamrichova also advanced.