After drawing praise from US Open champion Coco Gauff last week, Brenda Fruhvirtova is determined to let her results do the talking upon her return to Melbourne Park as she bids to qualify for the Australian Open for a second straight year.
The younger half of Czech tennis’ teen sister act, 110th-ranked Fruhvirtova aimed to rejoin 18-year-old Linda in the main draw and made the first step towards doing so with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Australian wildcard Petra Hule on Tuesday.
DRAW: AO 2024 women's singles qualifying
Fruhvirtova's compatriot Sara Bejlek, 17, kickstarted her bid to qualify a second time with a 6-3 6-1 win over Himeno Sakatsume of Japan earlier on Tuesday.
Last year, Fruhvirtova became the first player born in 2007 to compete in a Grand Slam main draw when she won through qualifying before Aliaksandra Sasnovich stopped her in the opening round.
It was a rollercoaster route in which she rebounded from a set down in successive matches before she booked her berth in 2023.
“I think as a person I think I didn't change at all since that,” Fruhvitova said. “I just have some more experiences than last year because I played all of the four Grand Slams (qualifying) so I think it was good for me.
“For sure, I gained some experience by that. As a player it's hard to say but I think I'm serving better than last year, playing a little more aggressive tennis.
“I think last year here I had four good matches, so it's probably my favourite Grand Slam and favourite tournament. I'm really happy to be back here.”
The 16-year-old warmed up for her return at Auckland leading in where she won through qualifying and collected her first top-50 win against Alina Blinkova before eventual champion Gauff halted her run.
While the American conceded just three games in that showdown she predicted her younger opponent would push even further in future.
“It was a really good tournament for me and for sure I gained some confidence,” Fruhvirtova said. “It was really important to play a few matches on a hard court because last year I was playing almost only on clay so I wasn't really used to it.
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“Playing against Coco was a great experience. It's always good to play against these top players and of course you're a little nervous but on the other side you have absolutely nothing to lose.
“Unfortunately, I had some health issues there, so it was pretty hard for me because before Auckland I was sick and I wasn't playing at all.”
Last year, fellow Czech teen Bejlek joined Fruhvirtova in the main draw after she too qualified.
Twelve months later, on the heels of a maiden WTA 125 title in Chile in November, Bejlek said her confidence had grown.
“I know that I can play with the good players now, I don't know if the best ones, but I can play with the good ones,” she said. “I think I change a lot and I'm happy for that because we're focusing on the right things and I think we're on a good way.”
RESULTS: Qualifying - Tuesday 9 January
Bejlek was part of the Czech United Cup team at Perth last week and while she did not compete there, it still proved an invaluable experience.
There was plenty to absorb watching and training with Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and top-30 men’s player Jiri Lehecka.
“With Jiri I'm still in the same club in Czech Republic so we know each other pretty well and with Marketa I'm practising a lot. We are good friends, so I was happy there,” Bejlek said.
“It was great to be in a team because in tennis you are usually playing for yourself… It's just good to feel more the power of the others too.”
There were mixed fortunes for a pair of Australian Open junior champions as Alina Korneeva scored her maiden Grand Slam qualifying win, while Petra Marcinko was ousted earlier in the day.
Last year, Korneeva needed three hours and 18 minutes to move past Mirra Andreeva for the girls’ singles trophy and on Tuesday, she was again forced to dig deep for a 6-4 3-6 7-5 victory over 31st seed Sachia Vickery.
HONOUR ROLL: Australian Open girls' singles
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AO202 girls’ champion Marcinko’s qualifying campaign ended at the first hurdle when the Croatian fell to Swiss Simona Waltert 6-1 6-1.
While ranked just eight places lower, the 18-year-old former junior No.1 succumbed to the world No.166 in just 58 minutes.
In other results, third-seeded American Katie Volynets and fourth-seeded Spaniard Marina Bassols Ribera advanced in straight sets over Suzan Lamens and Tara Wurth respectively.
Six Australian women – Priscilla Hon, Astra Sharma, Talia Gibson, Melisa Ercan, Ivana Popovic and Destanee Aiava – also booked their second-round qualifying berths.