Thompson, Gavrilova Earn Australian Open Wild Card Berths

Australia native Jordan Thompson earned a wild card berth into the Australian Open with a thrilling 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 6-7(2), 9-7 over his compatriot John-Patrick Smith in Sunday’s Australian Open Wild Card playoff final. The win puts him into the main draw of the first Grand Slam of the year for the second consecutive season.

Thompson had to battle not only his opponent, but also scorching temperatures throughout the four-hour long match. He played through a bloody nose and cramps while Smith dealt with a knee injury and cramps of his own.

It is the second straight year that Thompson has seen a two-set lead erased before standing tough and winning the tie-break.

“I couldn’t even remember the score when I was winning—I just knew I had to win one more game,” said Thompson, who beat Benjamin Mitchell in last year’s final. “If I go to five in the Australian Open hopefully I’ll be fitter for it and hopefully it won’t be as hot, because I really think that hurt me.”

Thompson wasted no time finishing things off in the tiebreaker, wrapping up the match on his first match point. He will look to build on his Grand Slam debut from a year ago, where he fell to 20th seeded Jerzy Janowicz 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 1-6.

“I just competed really well and got there in the end,” said Thompson of reaching the main draw for a second consecutive year. “It means the world; to play another home Grand Slam is amazing.”

Over on the women’s side, Daria Gavrilova punched her ticket into the Australian Open by winning the third and final wildcard playoff event on Sunday. The Russian, who is making the transition to full Australian status on the WTA, defeated fourth-seeded Arina Rodionova 6-4, 6-2 in the final.

The third-seeded Gavrilova did not lose a set in the three matches she played this week. She knocked off the top-seeded Olivia Rogowska 6-1, 6-3 in the semifinals.

The win means even more to Gavrilova when you consider the 20-year old watched last year’s Australian Open on crutches after tearing her ACL at the end of 2013.

“Last year I was watching this on crutches after my surgery, and I was jealous of everyone playing!” said Gavrilova. “Now I’m here and I won and I’m really happy! It’s just really exciting. I love being here and I really love Melbourne. I can’t wait for the Australian Open.”

This is the second time she has played in the main draw of a Grand Slam, with the first coming in Melbourne in 2013. She reached the second-round before falling to fellow qualifier Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine.

Irina Falconi and Chang Kai-Chen claimed the other two wild card spots in the women’s draw last month. Falconi, a New York-native, won the USTA Pro Circuit Australian Open Wild Card Challenge back in early November. She earned 109 points in the challenge which was enough to earn the Wild Card berth.

Kai-Chen clinched a spot in the Melbourne Main Draw when she won the respective playoff event in China.

The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam of the season and begins on Jan. 19th.