The Melbourne Summer Set, played at Melbourne Park from 3-9 January, will feature many Australian players.
Melbourne, Australia, 2 January 2022 | Leigh Rogers
The draws have been announced for this week’s Melbourne Summer Set, which will be played at Melbourne Park from 3-9 January.
There will be jam-packed action as three tournaments (one ATP and two WTA) are played concurrently across the venue.
Melbourne Summer Set – ATP 250
An all-Australian battle is set for the opening round of the Melbourne Summer Set ATP tournament, with Jordan Thompson facing fellow Sydneysider Chris O’Connell.
Although they practice together regularly, Thompson and O’Connell have only played once before at professional level – at an ITF Futures tournament in Croatia in 2014.
Alexei Popyrin, the top-ranked Aussie in the draw, begins his campaign against Italy’s Stefano Travaglia. While Nick Kyrgios has been pitted against Slovakian Alex Molcan.
| Men’s singles, first round | ||||
| Player | Rank | Player | Rank | |
| Alexei Popyrin (AUS) | 61 | v | Stefano Travaglia (ITA) | 78 |
| Jordan Thompson (AUS) | 75 | v | [WC] Chris O’Connell (AUS) | 175 |
| [WC] Nick Kyrgios (AUS) | 93 | v | Alex Molcan (SVK) | 88 |
> VIEW: Full men’s singles main draw
The Australian contenders in the men’s qualifying singles competition – Marc Polmans and Rinky Hijikata – have both been handed tough tests in their opening matches of the new season.
| Men’s qualifying singles, first round | ||||
| Player | Rank | Player | Rank | |
| [WC] Marc Polmans (AUS) | 196 | v | [3] Sebastian Baez (ARG) | 99 |
| [WC] Rinky Hijikata (AUS) | 375 | v | [7] Denis Kudla (USA) | 105 |
> VIEW: Full men’s singles qualifying draw
Melbourne Summer Set – WTA 250 #1
World No.13 and defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka headlines the Melbourne Summer Set WTA 250 #1 draw.
Three Australians have been granted main draw wildcards – Arina Rodionova, Lizette Cabrera and Seone Mendez.
| Women’s singles, first round | ||||
| Player | Rank | Player | Rank | |
| [WC] Arina Rodionova (AUS) | 152 | v | Elena-Gabriela Ruse (ROU) | 87 |
| [WC] Lizette Cabrera (AUS) | 173 | v | Anastasia Potapova (RUS) | 69 |
| [WC] Seone Mendez (AUS) | 239 | v | Qualifier | – |
> VIEW: Full women’s singles main draw
A further four Australians will contest the qualifying competition, including 16-year-old Western Australian Taylah Preston in her WTA-level debut.
| Women’s qualifying singles, first round | ||||
| Player | Rank | Player | Rank | |
| [WC] Alexandra Osborne (AUS) | 771 | v | [4] Danka Kovinic (MNE) | 96 |
| [WC] Kimberly Birrell (AUS) | 741 | v | [8] Martina Trevisan (ITA) | 112 |
| [WC] Destanee Aiava (AUS) | 316 | v | [6] Wang Qiang (CHN) | 104 |
| [WC] Taylah Preston (AUS) | – | v | [10] Sara Errani (ITA) | 121 |
> VIEW: Full women’s singles qualifying draw
Melbourne Summer Set – WTA 250 #2
World No.98 Astra Sharma is one of three Australian wildcards in the Melbourne Summer Set WTA 250 #2 draw.
The 26-year-old from Perth is joined by Ellen Perez and Sam Stosur, who recently announced she plans to end her singles career at the conclusion of the Australian summer.
| Women’s singles, first round | ||||
| Player | Rank | Player | Rank | |
| [WC] Astra Sharma (AUS) | 98 | v | Rebecca Peterson (SWE) | 88 |
| [WC] Ellen Perez (AUS) | 196 | v | Nuria Parrizas Diaz (ESP) | 66 |
| [WC] Sam Stosur (AUS) | 382 | v | Qualifier | – |
> VIEW: Full women’s singles main draw
Four Australians are competing in the qualifying competition, including 21-year-old Gabriella Da Silva-Fick who claimed her first WTA main draw win during last year’s Australian summer.
| Women’s qualifying singles, first round | ||||
| Player | Rank | Player | Rank | |
| [WC] Olivia Tjandramulia (AUS) | 521 | v | [6] Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) | 107 |
| [WC] Gabriella Da Silva-Fick (AUS) | 592 | v | [8] Zhu Lin (CHN) | 114 |
| [WC] Tina Smith (AUS) | 630 | v | [10] Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) | 118 |
| [WC] Alicia Smith (AUS) | 733 | v | [4] Wang Xinyu (CHN) | 101 |
> VIEW: Full women’s singles qualifying draw
Tickets to the Melbourne Summer Set are now on sale with prices beginning at $19 for main draw matches. Kids can attend for free.