Australian Open qualifying:  Fran Jones and Billy Harris through; Cruz Hewitt and Bernard Tomic out
2025-01-07
Category: sports

Fran Jones and Billy Harris are through to the second round of Australian Open qualifying but three more Britons were beaten at Melbourne Park.Jones began her bid to qualify for the tournament for a second time with a 7-5 6-4 victory over Czech Linda Fruhvirtova.Harris, aiming to reach the main draw in Melbourne for the first time, battled past Japan's Yuta Shimizu 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-4.However, Paul Jubb lost 6-4 6-4 to Juan Pablo Ficovich of Argentina, Lily Miyazaki was edged out 5-7 6-4 7-6 (10-8) by Belgium's Marie Benoit and Jan Choinski fell 6-4 7-5 to France's Titouan Droguet.Players must win three qualifying matches to reach the main draw of the tournament, which begins on Sunday.
Cruz Hewitt, the 16-year-old son of Australian legend Lleyton, also lost on the second day of qualifying.Watched on by his father on a packed court three, Hewitt lost 6-1 6-4 to former world number 16 Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia.Australia's Bernard Tomic, formerly a top 20 player, also lost, beaten 6-3 6-1 by Slovakia's 21st seed Jozef Kovalik.Britons Harriet Dart and Heather Watson made it through to the second round of qualifying on Monday.Katie Boulter, Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal, Jodie Burrage, Jack Draper, Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley all have direct entry into the main draw.Elsewhere, two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur continued her injury return with a 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 victory over Danielle Collins at the Adelaide International.Defending champion Jelena Ostapenko also advanced after coming from behind to beat Poland's Magdalena Frech 4-6 6-1 6-1. 