Top seed Dennis Novak was one of the players who made it safely through to the second round of Australian Open 2020 qualifying before rain washed out play on Wednesday afternoon.
The Austrian has been in fine form recently, beating world No.25 Guido Pella at last week’s ATP Cup, and he had far too much for the mercurial Dustin Brown, easing to a 6-3 6-2 victory.
The dreadlocked Brown brought his customary flair in the early stages of the contest, eliciting a series of whoops early on from the spectators after blazing consecutive winners.
However, the surface seemed to inhibit the Jamaican-born German’s natural attacking game, blunting the power of his serve. Too often, his trademark forays to the net simply made him a sitting duck for Novak’s accurate returns and passing shots, and from 3-3 in the first set, it was one-way traffic.
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Novak won seven of the next eight games, breaking the Brown serve four times in the process, and from there he swiftly wrapped up a comfortable win.
“We’re good friends so I know what to expect from him,” said Novak. “His game is to play for two or three shots, not for the long rallies. It’s tricky but what I expected, and I think I managed it pretty good.”
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The 26-year-old recently broke the top 100 for the first time in his career, a breakthrough he puts down to the input of new travelling coach Julian Knowle.
“He has a lot of experience, was a Grand Slam champion in doubles so he knows a lot about competing against the best players,” said Novak.
“Reaching top 100 is unbelievable. You work for this kind of thing your whole life, for me it’s been the last, almost 20 years. But now it’s the start of the next chapter.”
Elsewhere at Melbourne Park, Duck Hee Lee – the first deaf player to compete on the ATP Tour – upset 32nd seed Alessandro Giannessi 2-6 7-5 7-6(7) in a match which lasted more than three hours. Lee trailed 6-1 in the deciding match tiebreak before reeling off nine of the final 10 points to clinch a remarkable win.
However, Lee’s compatriot Hyeon Chung – a semifinalist at the Australian Open two years ago – pulled out before taking to court for his first round qualifying match against Lorenzo Musetti, citing tendonitis in his right hand. It is the latest in the series of setbacks for the talented Korean, who reached a high of No.19 in the rankings in 2018 before injury interrupted his career.
On the women’s side, just six matches were completed before the skies opened over Melbourne Park.
The first to reach the second round, and the highest seed to win through, was No.27 seed Kurumi Nara of Japan, who led Jana Cepelova 6-4 3-0 before the Slovak retired from the contest.
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Fellow seeds Allie Kiick and Barbara Haas also advanced; 28th seed Kiick overcame Réka Luca Jani of Hungary 7-5 6-3 while No.32 seed Haas recovered to defeat Kristina Kucova 2-6 6-4 6-4.
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China’s Wang Xinyu squeezed past Irina Falconi to set up a second-round meeting with Kiick, while Danielle Lao got past Veronica Cepede Royg in straight sets and will next play Nara. Haas will next take on Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove, who got past Eva Guerrero Alvarez 6-1 7-6(5).
Several matches were underway before play was suspended, including Canadian teen Leylah Annie Fernandez’ battle with No.7 seed Patricia Maria Tig. Fernandez, the 2019 Roland Garros girls’ champion, leads the Romanian 6-2 4-1.
Australians Jaimee Fourlis and Kaylah McPhee were locked at a set all in their clashes with Xun Fang Ying and Greet Minnen respectively, while No.3 seed Varvara Gracheva leads Frenchwoman Chloe Paquet 6-2.