Australian Open star leaves court injured on wheelchair but still wins to dump out Brit
Qualifying for the Australian Open is underway ahead of the first Grand Slam of 2024, and there has been drama.
Australian Open wildcard entry Melisa Ercan showed incredible commitment on Tuesday to keep her hopes of qualifying for the main draw alive. She took on Britain’s Lily Miyazaki in her first qualifying match on the Show Court Arena, and prevailed in straight sets despite having to leave the court in a wheelchair.
Ercan, 18, was plagued by a brutal bout of cramp in her calf during the contest, and was in evident pain as her leg seized up afterwards. After being attended to by medical staff, she was helped back to the changing room in a wheelchair, receiving a heartwarming round of applause as she left.
But the teenager, who joined Tennis Australia's National Tennis Academy in January 2023, will now need to recover quickly to keep her qualification hopes alive. She came through the contest 6-4 7-6 (7-5), digging deep to take the second set tie-break and set up a clash with China’s Siija Wei in the early hours of tomorrow (Thursday) morning.
She had led the second set 4-1 and was seemingly cruising towards victory when injury struck. But her show of guts and determination has since earned her widespread praise from pundits and fans.
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The official Australian Open X account prasied her effort, writing: “I’m no physio, but she looked in strife when her left calf seized up. But she managed to take the second to a breaker, hold her nerve and moves on!”
Another, @VenusGauff, credited Ercan for not taking the easy option of a prolonged medical timeout, writing: “Instead of forfeiting multiple games to get immediate treatment, she opted to keep playing. Lost the next 10 points, then her treatment kicked in and managed to win in a second set tiebreaker!”
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For Miyazaki, 28, the wait to play in an Australian Open continues. The Japanese-born player appeared in the first round of Wimbledon in 2022, before making the second round of the US Open the following year.
Further qualifying matches will take place throughout Thursday. The draw for the first round of the tournament is also scheduled to take place on the same day.