Polish tennis fans rejoiced as the Australian Open started last Sunday. In the singles championships, three out of the four Poles in the draw (men and women) made it to round 2.

Things did not start as expected. On Sunday, Magda Linette was forces to withdraw from her confrontation against former world number 1, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki. At 6-2; 2-0, Linette decided to put an end to the suffering. 

On Monday, the White and Reds got the job done. Magdalena Fręch was opposed to Australia’s Davia Saville. After having lost the first set in the tiebreak (6-7), the Pole fought back and won 6-3 and 7-5. It took the Pole over three hours to validate her ticket for the second round. On Wednesday, Fręch will be facing the French Caroline Garcia and won’t be favourite. 

On the same day, Hubert Hurkacz made no mistake against another local champion, Omar Jasika. The Silesian needed a tiebreak to seal the first set (7-6) before cruising to the finish line with 6-4 and 6-2 in a little more than two hours altogether. On Thursday, Hubi will be opposed to the Czech Jakub Mensik. Potential future opponents include France’s Ugo Humbert and Denmark’s Olger Rune. 

On Tuesday, it was Iga Świątek’s turn to get started in Melbourne. The world number 1 needed less than two hours to dispose of the American Sofia Kenin (7-6; 6-2). The Varsovian will face another American in round 2, Danielle Collins, on Thursday. Most observers agree that Iga is the top favourite to win the 2024 edition of the first Grand Slam of the year. 

Image: X @JJlovesTennis

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen