Australian Open 2025: Jodie Burrage & Harriet Dart make winning starts at Melbourne Park
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What a start it’s been for our British tennis players Down Under, with Jodie Burrage and Harriet Dart clinching hard-fought victories on day two at the Australian Open.
Burrage recorded her maiden Australian Open win with a 6-2, 6-4 victory in just an hour and 14 minues over France's Leolia Jeanjean.
Meanwhile, Dart received a late call up as a lucky loser after 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova withdrew due to injury – eventually prevailing against Jana Fett 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(7).
It’s been a challenging 12 months for Burrage, who battled with injury struggles that led her to miss six months of the 2024 season. After recently admitting she came close to walking away from the sport, the 25-year-old went on to lift the biggest title of her career at the beginning of December at the W100 Dubai.
Now, the Brit is revelling in the emotions of clinching her first win at Melbourne Park on her return to Grand Slam tennis.
“I’m very very happy with today,” Burrage beamed after the match. “I got a little bit emotional at the end, there was a lot of hard work that went into today but I’m very happy with the win and how I played.
“I was really nervous for this match, even last night - I’ve not had that in a while. I knew I could play some good tennis and what a good opportunity today was and I know the hard work that went into the last year – all of those emotions from the last nine months I think were bottled up in there.
“Throughout playing all the ITFs (over the last few months) all I was saying was ‘I want to get to Australia, I know I’ll be good in Australia’ so I didn’t want to let the opportunity go to waste today.”
The British No.7 dominated from the get-go as she channelled her aggressive game style to sprint ahead to a double break lead to seal the opening set.
Eager to carry the momentum into the second, Burrage continued to attack Jeanjean’s serve and found an early breakthrough on her opening service game to edge ahead.
Aside from striking an impressive 23 winners past the Frenchwoman, Burrage was particularly impressive on her own serve, where she won 77% of points during her service games to escape the match without facing a single break point.
Stepping up to serve for the match, Burrage sprinted ahead to a 40-0 lead. With a first Australian Open win in sight, all the emotions from a tough 12 months came spilling out as the 25-year-old hit a winning forehand which dribbled over the net, sending a cluster of British fans into eruption and bringing Burrage to tears.
Burrage has now been rewarded with a second-round meeting against world No.3 Coco Gauff. The pair last met at the 2023 Rothesay International Eastbourne where the American sealed a confident 6-1, 6-1 victory, but with Burrage having tasted victory in Melbourne for the first time, an upset isn’t outside the realms of possibility.
Meanwhile, a main draw appearance probably wasn’t on the radar for Dart when she woke up this morning. The British No.3 fell short to Nao Hibino in the final match of qualifying, marking what she thought was the end of her Australian Open campaign.
However, a late twist in the tale saw an opportunity open up for the 28-year-old and she made sure to take advantage of it in what turned out to be a gripping match against the Croatian world No.133.
“A little bit tired for sure. You don’t really know what’s going to happen with being first lucky loser.
“I was fortunate enough to be able to play today and when you get a chance, you really want to take it and I was really happy to get over the line today.
“Not that long, but because it was a men’s match it gives you a little bit more time. I ended up full-cramping out there but somehow I managed to get over the line and it’ll be good to get a rest day tomorrow.”
A topsy-turvy match packed with 19 breaks of serve and an injury for the Brit saw Dart dig deep to grind out a hard-fought win.
After stealing a late break in the opening set, Dart soon became hampered by injury and cramp in the second and Fett soon capitalised on her struggles to reel off the last four games and level the match to a set apiece.
After a few more breaks of serve in the decider and match points having come and gone for the Croatian and we headed towards a 10-point tie-break. The 28-year-old Brit sprinted ahead to a comfortable 6-0 lead and despite a late threat from her opponent, she eventually got over the line on her third match point to clinch the win after three hours and 11 minutes.
Next up, Dart will face 18th seed Donna Vekic in the second round.
Keep up with the latest results from the Brits competing in Melbourne
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