AO 2019 Qualifiers (so far)
Ilya Ivashka
- 25, #148, Belarus
- 1-1 all time in Melbourne, never won a match in Qualies before now. Lost in straights in R2 last year to PCB. Beat #7 Kudla in 3 in QR2 this year.
Norbert "Goomba" Gombos
- 29, #111, Slovakia
- First career AO main draw appearance. #10 seed here in Qualies, did't drop more than 4 games in a set on the way to qualifying.
Pedro Martinez
- 22, #168, Spain
- First career AO main draw appearance. Lost in QR3 last year, but this year qualified without giving up more than 4 games in a set. Beat Rosol 4 and 2 in QR3 yesterday.
Max Purcell
- 21, #216, Australia
- This was his 4th career AO Qualifying tournament and his first successful qualification. Previously had never even won a single match in AO qualies. Came very close to a repeat of that here, but turned it around, even defeating #13 Gianluca Mager in QR2. He should garner some interest no matter his R1 opponent.
Ernests Gulbis
- 31, #254, Latvia
- Oh boy.....
Peter Gojowczyk
- 30, #119, Germany
- 1-6 all time in Melbourne. This is his 4th time successfully qualifying for the main draw here.
Ann Li
- 19, #142, USA
- This is her first attempt at qualifying for the AO main draw. Beat #1 seed Ana Bogdan in 3 sets to qualify, narrowly winning the 2nd 11-9 in a TB.
Shelby Rogers
- 27, #155, USA
- Has a 1-3 all time record here, but this is her first time successfully qualifying. Had little trouble in this Qualifying tournament, never dropping more than 4 games in a set, including beating the #8 and #30 seeds.
Martina Trevisan
- 26, #154, Italy
- This is only her 2nd career AO Qualies and boy did she impress here. Beat #9 Bonaventure 0 and 2 in QR2, then beat an improving Bouchard 4 and 3 to qualify for the main draw. This will be her first time playing in the AO main draw.
Monica Niculescu
- 32, #128, Romania
- Slice those forehands
Ludmilla Samsonova
- 21, #118, Russia
- Like many others, her first AO main draw. Already made a splash in 2020 by qualifying for Brisbane and then beating Sloane Stephens in R1. Struggled here in qualies, but managed to win QR2 and QR3 in the 3 sets each to qualify.
Harriet Dart
- 23, #169, Britain
- Qualified last year, too, but won a grand total of zero games in her R1 match against Maria Sharapova. Might she win her first ever AO main draw game this year? She had absolutely zero trouble in qualies, even against #15 Nicole Gibbs.
(to be continued)
