Ajla Tomljanovic and Ash Barty have both won their fourth round matchups to set up an all-Aussie quarter-final at Wimbledon.
It will be Tomljanovic’s first-ever grand slam quarter-final – but she achieved the milestone in a way she would not have wanted as her British teenage opponent Emma Raducanu had to pull out of the match with a breathing problem.
Tomljanovic was 6-3 3-0 ahead in their last-16 clash on Monday when the 18-year-old Briton, having called for the trainer, had to go off court to be treated for a problem with breathlessness that appeared to have cropped up at the start of the second set.
Raducanu was not well enough to return to the court – the most unfortunate end to what had been the most professional of performances from the Australian No.2 to beat Britain’s new teenage show court darling.
“I am actually shocked because Emma must be hurt if she came to the decision to retire,” Tomljanovic told the No.1 court crowd.
“I am really sorry for her, I wish we could have finished it. I am wishing her all the best.
“I thought I found my groove although Emma was hurt and not at her best, which kind of explains it.”
The whole of the home nation had been cheering on the wildcard Raducanu, ranked 338th in the world, who captured everyone’s imagination through her run to the last-16, but the seasoned world No.75 Tomljanovic quite ruined the script.
Tomljanovic was not about to miss out on the most important victory of a meandering career on No.1 Court as the 28-year-old Brisbane player celebrated reaching the last-eight of a slam for the first time at the 27th time of asking.
The win set up a dream quarter-final on Tuesday for Tomljanovic with her friend and compatriot Ash Barty, who had earlier beaten the French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova 7-5 6-3 on the same court.
It’s also the first time Barty has reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals and she was thrilled to reach the last-eight.
“Being in the quarter, I’m happy, I’m excited,” smiled Barty.
“It’s another stepping stone for me, another first, I suppose. It’s going to be a new scenario, one that I’m going to look forward to and enjoy no matter what,” said the world No.1.
“Certainly happy with the way things are going. It’s a stepping stone to what is kind of one of my biggest dreams. We just keep chipping away…”
A slice of Aussie history
Their victories meant that Australian tennis will be able to enjoy on Thursday the sight of their first women’s semi-finalist at Wimbledon since 2000 when Jelena Dokic lost to American Lindsay Davenport.
The last time two Aussie women met in the last-eight at SW19 was in 1980 when Evonne Goolagong Cawley beat Wendy Turnbull in straight sets.
But there’ll have to be a quick turnaround for the pair who will meet on Centre Court in the last-eight on Tuesday, which on the face of it would appear a disadvantage for Tomljanovic, whose late match only finished at 9.15pm, nearly seven hours later than Barty’s.
The prospect of the big match left both of them thrilled.
“I’m just happy to share the court with Ash tomorrow. I always talk so highly of her because it’s really what I think,” said Tomljanovic, who has reached her first-ever grand slam quarter after a decade on the circuit
“Tomorrow, I know I’m going to have to bring everything I’ve got to potentially win.
“And just the whole surroundings of the Centre Court, I think it’s going to be special no matter what.
“When I hear about history with other players (like the Goolgong-Turnbull semi-final), I always think it’s really cool. I’ve just never been in a position to be part of it. When I look back I’ll be in that small group.”
Barty too was excited. “Obviously, it’s incredible for Aussie tennis. I was pumped to see Ajla through to the second week here for her first time at Wimbledon.”
Barty couldn’t actually recall whether she’d played Tomljanovic, the world No.75, in competitive action before but the record books show this will be a first.
“I’ve known Ajla for a long time. We’re good mates. We’ve practised together plenty of times, played in doubles once or twice maybe,” said Barty.
“She’s been knocking on the door for a long time. She’s a great girl, has been playing some great tennis. I was rapt for her to be able to get through.”
Barty, talking before Tomljanovic’s match, reckoned she was going to “chuck it on in the background” on TV but wasn’t sure how much she was going to watch.
AAP
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