Tomljanovic’s cruel Open rankings twist

Tomljanovic’s cruel Open rankings twist

An premature knee harm is ready to rob Ajla Tomljanovic of a valuable first-time grand slam seeding on the Australian Open.

Australia’s high ladies’s hope following the retirement of 2022 champion Ash Barty, Tomljanovic was in line for a top-32 seeding at her residence grand slam earlier than withdrawing from the United Cup.

In a serious blow, Tomljanovic is now projected to slide two locations to world No.35 after opting to sit down out the blended groups’ occasion as a precaution because of the knee criticism.

With world No.10 Simona Halep not contesting the Open, the Thirty third-ranked participant as of subsequent Monday’s rankings will nab the ultimate ladies’s seeding slot.

1 / 4-finalist at each Wimbledon and the US Open final 12 months, Tomljanovic is now sweating on two withdrawals earlier than subsequent Thursday’s draw to grab an all-important seeding.

Being seeded would guarantee Tomljanovic could not run right into a higher-ranked rival till not less than the third spherical at Melbourne Park.

Such a protected place within the draw can be an enormous benefit for the primary Australian girl for the reason that nice Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1979 to succeed in the final eight at Wimbledon and New York in a single season.

Before Tomljanovic’s harm setback, Barty hailed her 29-year-old former Fed Cup teammate a real Melbourne Park title hope.

“And that’s the genuine feeling among the players,” Barty instructed AAP.

“Certainly when I played Ajla, I knew I had to be at my absolute very best or she’d completely roll me.

“And she’s acquired that respect from everybody.”

Tomljanovic took the opening set of a gripping Wimbledon quarter-final against eventual champion Elena Rybakina last July before also losing a high quality US Open last-eight encounter to world No.2 Ons Jabeur.

While Tomljanovic needs a touch of luck, Poland’s world No.1 and reigning French and US Open champion Iga Swiatek will be top seed at Melbourne Park for the first time.

Nick Kyrgios will be Australia’s highest seed at the season’s first slam.

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist is currently slated to be seeded 21st.

Crucially, countryman Alex de Minaur is likely be seeded 24th.

That means de Minaur will avoid being in the bracket of players seeded between 25th and 32nd who will be drawn to strike a top-eight opponent in round three.

Teenage whiz Carlos Alcaraz, who eliminated Lleyton Hewitt from a web page within the tennis document books by changing into the youngest year-end No.1 in historical past, would be the males’s Open high seed.