Maja Chwalinska doesn’t want to look at a tennis court for a day after qualifying for her career-second Grand Slam main draw.
The 23-year-old earned entry to the Australian Open on Thursday after taking just over one-and-a-half hours to beat teenager Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-3 6-4.
“I’m really happy right now. I will not think about any match for the moment, because I just want to go to the hotel and recover as much as I can,” she said.
“I’ll be ready for the main draw for sure.”
Destanee Aiava was the first of two Australian women to qualify with a 6-1 2-6 6-4 win over German Eva Lys. Meanwhile, Polina Kudermetova, who finished runner-up to defending Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka at the recent Brisbane International, continued her hot run of form with a 6-4 7-5 triumph over Elena Micic.
Chwalinska believes resilience was key to her success, as she clutched a banana leaving Court 12, with qualifying, for her especially, almost a tournament in itself.
The Pole’s first-round match against Dominika Salkova lasted three hours and 20 minutes, and it took two hours and nine minutes to beat Belgium’s Marie Benoit in the second.
“I’m not a robot, you know, so I couldn’t recover as much as I would like to,” she said. “But it’s tennis, you’ve got to be prepared for that as well. I was just trying to do my best with what I had.
“I knew that I can reach main draw, but honestly I feel like qualifying is very, very tough,” Chwalinska continued.
“There are many, many players and it’s three matches in three days, so it’s very demanding - physically and mentally. You can be a great player, and I’m not talking about me,” she laughed, “you can be great and honestly, just, you have a few weaker moments and then you can pay with a win.”
The world No.126 hasn’t stopped playing since last year. She won her first WTA tournament in December and was part of the national team that finished runner-up to the USA at the United Cup earlier this month.
“No off-season for me this year, no pre-season as well, just playing. Let’s see,” she quipped.
Chwalinksa, who was teammates with friend Iga Swiatek at the United Cup, believes the experience there will only aid her campaign in Melbourne.
“It was definitely a help because I spent a lot of great days with a great team. I really enjoyed spending time there, and I was also inspired by our players, so I think it could help me a lot, it did help me a lot,” she said.
“I’m actually very grateful for that experience.”
Earlier, an emotional Aiava fell to her knees after serving out the third set against Lys, both players enjoying support from the crowd on Court 3.
The 24-year-old – whose victory came hours after trolls body-shamed her on social media – credited her mum and serve for the triumph that will see her return to the AO main draw for the first time in four years.
“Speechless. I’ve worked so hard for this. I haven’t played main draw of AO in so long and just to qualify it’s even sweeter,” Aiava said.
“It means so much.
“My mum has sacrificed so much, and I was with her every single day in pre-season just working my arse off. It’s really nice to have such a close-knit support group and I appreciate every single one of my friends and family.”
Aiava came out firing in the first set, but Lys fought back in the second.
The rivals pushed each other in the third, playing strong shots from the baseline, rallying and striking at the net. At the changeover Aiava used a simple mantra to break through.
“I just thought play free, don’t think ahead, because I know I’ve done it before here as well and I didn’t get through,” she said.
“I really wanted to just clear my mind. All I thought about was the next serve. I know 5-4 is such a tough game, even if you are serving out for it, it’s one of the hardest games to close out a match in.
“I’ve been working so hard with my serve as well, and I think it really pulled through.”
Kimberly Birrell, who recently returned to the top 100, took to Court 3 immediately after her compatriot and for two hours and 46 minutes battled Oksana Selekhmeteva before prevailing 6-3 6-7(4) 6-4.
“I just did the best I could to hang in there, I just told myself, ‘She’s good and I’m good too,’ and I love the battle, and knew that was what it was going to take,” Birrell said.