In only her fourth tour-level match, 18-year-old Maya Joint has denied Maddison Inglis in an all-Australian showdown at Pat Rafter Arena.
Brisbane, Australia, 29 December 2024 | Dan Imhoff
Teenage wildcard Maya Joint has set a showdown with former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka in her Brisbane International debut after claiming an all-Australian stoush against Maddison Inglis on Sunday.
In only her fourth WTA-level match, the 18-year-old played with the fearlessness of youth when she jumped to 5-0 early and sustained her advantage through a more evenly contested second set for a 6-3 6-4 victory over the 154th-ranked Inglis at Pat Rafter Arena.
18-year-old Maya Joint defeats compatriot Maddison Inglis 6-3 6-4 to kickstart her #BrisbaneTennis campaign.
The young Aussie will take on two-time Brisbane champion Victoria Azarenka in the second round! pic.twitter.com/VAx6TvPT8q
— Brisbane International (@BrisbaneTennis) December 29, 2024
“I train here, so it’s super special to be able to play a match in front of this amazing crowd,” Joint said. “It’s really important to start the season off well and I can’t think of a better place to do it than here.
“I’m super excited to just play a lot of firsts – first main draw here, first main draw at the Australian Open.”
Australia’s fastest-rising player over the past year, Joint climbed a staggering 655 places to end inside the top 120 following a season that included two ITF titles, a WTA 125 final and a win over Laura Siegemund to reach the second round at the US Open.
The teenager vowed to learn from a defeat to world No.21 Madison Keys at Flushing Meadows in her next match against two-time former champion Azarenka.
> READ MORE: Aussies aim to build on career bests in Brisbane
“I’m really excited to play her. Yeah, I’ll think back to my Madison Keys match. That was a great experience. I hope I can play well again,” Joint said.
“There was a lot of things that I saw that I needed to improve in my own game to be competitive with those sorts of players … I’m glad I got a good win under my belt. I’ll take confidence from that. She hasn’t played a match yet this week, so we’ll see how it goes.”
In final-round men’s singles qualifying, Tristan Schoolkate and Li Tu fell short of bolstering Australia’s main-draw presence. Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin downed Schoolkate 6-4 6-4 while Japanese top seed Yoshihito Nishioka prevailed over Tu 6-3 2-6 6-4.
Day 2 preview: Thompson faces Italy’s Davis Cup hero, Hon and Birrell square off
Former world No.6 Matteo Berrettini continues his resurgence on Monday following a foot injury that derailed his 2023 season when he contests his first match since helping steer Italy to its second successive Davis Cup.
The 28-year-old broke Australian hearts when he narrowly snuck past Thanasi Kokkinakis to send the Italians through to the final in Malaga last month.
He will bid to do so again when he meets eighth seed Jordan Thompson in the second match on PRA.
Berrettini downed the Sydneysider in the opening round of the 2019 US Open before either had reached their respective peaks on tour.
For the second day in a row, an all-Australian clash will open the day session at PRA when qualifier Priscilla Hon meets a fellow Queenslander, world No.113 Kimberly Birrell, for the eighth time.
World No.167 Hon did not drop a set in qualifying and will carry a 5-2 ledger at all levels into the encounter. Wildcard Birrell, however, claimed the pair’s only WTA-level clash in Seoul in 2022.
World No.64 Chris O’Connell will attempt to overcome a rankings gap of 23 places when he meets big-serving American Alex Michelsen in the first round on Show Court 1.
The 20-year-old Michelsen claimed their only prior meeting in Tokyo this year.
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