On Monday night, Darian King lost in straight sets of an ATP Challenger final in Orlando.
On Tuesday, the Bajan touched down in Australia; 24 hours later, the world No. 172 had defeated a tennis “legend.”
King outlasted Australian Open 2006 finalist Marcos Baghdatis 6-4 4-6 6-3 in an absorbing clash on a packed Show Court 3 on Wednesday to book a second-round qualifying ticket for Australian Open 2019.
MORE: All the results from Day 2 of AO 2019 qualifying
“That was so tough. Coming from the States, playing a final just now, then only landing yesterday to get in one practice was hard,” King said after navigating past the challenging windy conditions and raucous support for the Cypriot.
“Obviously, I was against a legend, someone who has been at the top of the game in this sport. I was excited to be on court and share my presence with him. I really enjoyed the fight.”
Locked level on sets, King made his move at 4-3 in the decider with a backhand pass arrowing away from the 14th seed’s reach to clinch the crucial break.
“I was playing against a guy with tremendous experience in the sport, so for me I was most impressed by my mental capacity, staying focused to play like a wall,” declared King after booking a meeting with world No.175 Alexey Vatutin.
“Staying mentally strong was the key today.”
Another key was King’s prowess up the court, succeeding in 24 from 28 forays to the net to keep world No.122 Baghdatis off balance.
“It’s one of the things I’ve been working on in the off-season. I’m really happy I’ve been able to use that on the match court. I still have so much to work on,” reflected King, who fell at the third hurdle of Australian Open qualifying in 2018 and is determined to take one step further this year.
“It would be big (to qualify). I remember at the US Open in 2016 I lost in the last round of quallies, but the next season I made it through to the main draw, so hopefully I can repeat that in Aussie,” continued the 26-year-old, having received a call of congratulations from back home as he walked off court.
“Quallies is very tough, I just want to enjoy this moment and I’ll then focus on the next one.”
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Go Soeda utilised his wealth of experience to nullify the power of Australian Open junior champion Seb Korda.
Last year Korda won the Australian Open boys’ title on the 20th anniversary of his dad Petr claiming the men’s singles crown, but Seb couldn’t quite make the step up to the elite level, with Soeda in complete control in a 6-1 6-2 victory.
In-form third seed Ricardas Berankis also enjoyed an emphatic 6-1 6-2 win over Aussie wildcard Max Purcell.
Two Germans inflicted defeats on home charges Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith. World No.150 Mats Moraing edged two finely poised sets 6-4 7-5 facing Saville, whilst world No.129 Matthias Bachinger secured a 7-5 6-3 passage past Smith.
Top seed Lorenzo Sonego advanced into the second round with a 6-2 6-3 win over rising British talent Jay Clarke, booking a second round against Japan’s Yuichi Sugita.
There was good news for British fans with an opening victory for Dan Evans.
The 28-year-old competed in the main draw fourth round back in 2017, and illustrated his major pedigree with an efficient 6-2 6-3 victory over 23rd seed Rogerio Dutra Silva.
Evans will meet Austrian youngster Jurij Rodionov at the second stage after the 19-year-old prevailed 7-5 3-6 6-3 in a Next Gen encounter with Alexander Bublik.
Spaniard Enrique Lopez Perez fought back to down Donald Young 5-7 6-1 6-2. The world No.232 earned a second-round clash with India’s sixth seed Prajnesh Gunneswaran.
Former world No.12 Viktor Troicki opened his qualifying quest with a 6-2 6-4 route past French doubles specialist Nicolas Mahut.