Richard Gasquet’s hopes of an 18th Australian Open main draw appearance are over after falling in qualifying to 23-year-old Duje Ajdukovic, while Dan Evans is also out after succumbing to Japanese debutant James Trotter.
Ajdukovic, the second-ranked Croatian behind Borna Coric, had fallen to the retiring former world No.7 in qualifying in Madrid last year but ensured there would be no fairytale farewell for the Frenchman at Melbourne Park on Monday.
His 7-6(4) 6-3 triumph over the 38-year-old came despite a first-set wobble in which he let a 4-2 lead slip before he steadied to set a showdown against American Mitchell Krueger.
DRAW: AO 2025 men's singles qualifying
“Shout-out to Richard still giving it his all at his age, it's unbelievable,” Ajdukovic said. “As far as the match is concerned, I started really well, I felt really well and was hitting some great shots but, you know, Richard is really experienced, and he knows the game, so he knows how to turn things around.
“That's what he almost did in the first set. I was calm when I had to be and I'm happy to have gone through … I know what he is capable of, and I know that I had to stay focused throughout the entire match.”
The Australian Open was the only major at which Gasquet did not make the quarterfinals, but he reached the fourth round four times between 2007 and 2013. Three years ago, he wound back the clock when he wielded his signature shot – the smoothest of single-handed backhands – to upset then 29th-seeded countryman Ugo Humbert in the first round.
He will call time on his playing career after Roland Garros this year, more than 23 years after he won a round in his ATP debut as a 16-year-old at the 2002 Monte Carlo Masters.
“Of course I will miss it a lot, but tennis is not over after it even if I'm not a professional anymore,” he said during his Brisbane International qualifying campaign. “I will be here to try to support players and enjoy watching them.”
Despite Gasquet’s and former world No.21 Evans’ defeats, it wasn’t all bad news for proponents of the single-handed backhand after the unheralded Trotter upheld his end of the bargain at what could be considered his home Grand Slam.
The 25-year-old entered his first major qualifying draw just five spots off his career-best mark of world No.182 and had quietly strung together three wins through qualifying and the main draw at last week’s Canberra Challenger.
Born and raised in Japan, he spent five years from age 18 playing for Ohio State University in the US, while he held a strong family tie to Australia.
“Last year was my first full year on the tour out of college so, yeah, getting in [to qualifying within] one year means a lot to me especially as my dad is Australian, so it means a lot to me,” Trotter said following his 6-4 3-6 6-3 win.
“I'm pretty sure that he's very happy that I’m playing this tournament especially … My dad grew up in Toowoomba. It's a small town, I heard. My granddad actually still lives there.
“My dad went to uni in Sydney. He was an architect and went over to Japan for a job and met my mum and got married and hasn't left Japan in a while.”
For the 34-year-old Briton, Evans, it continued a frustrating 12 months. He channelled some of his fighting best to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows last year on a run which included a five-hour, 35-minute defeat of Karen Khachanov – the longest men’s match in US Open history.
A drastic dip in form and injuries had sent his ranking outside the top 160.
Far from overawed, Trotter relished the chance to face an opponent of Evans’ calibre.
“You don't really see too many single-handed backhands much anymore, but I watched his videos a lot and play kind of similar to him too,” Trotter said after he booked a clash against 18-year-old Spaniard Martin Landaluce. “It was very exciting when I saw his name on the draw, and I got to play him.”
In other first-round qualifying results, Serbian 10th seed Laslo Djere had a comfortable 6-3 6-1 victory over Brazilian Gustavo Heide for a second-round clash against former world No.17 Cristian Garin. The Chilean was a straight-sets winner over Bolivian Murkel Dellien.
RESULTS: Australian Open 2025 qualifying Day 1
Dellien’s older brother, 18th seed Hugo Dellien, set a meeting with Poland’s Maks Kasnikowski, while Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama denied 2020 junior champion Harold Mayot, of France, for a meeting with 20-year-old Paraguayan Daniel Vallejo.