Kimberly Birrell stuns second seed Emma Navarro in Australian wildcard match

Photo: Instagram/@kimberlybirrell

Australian wildcard Kimberly Birrell caused a huge surprise on Wednesday by defeating second seed Emma Navarro at the Brisbane International. At the same time, Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios’ doubles partnership came to an end after a tough loss in their second match. However, defending men’s champion Grigor Dimitrov continued his strong run by powering into the quarter-finals with a straight-set win.

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In the first match of the day at Pat Rafter Arena, Kimberly Birrell faced off against the world No. 8, Emma Navarro. Navarro had a great 2024 season, making deep runs in all four Grand Slams, including reaching the semi-finals at the US Open. She was the favourite to win, and many expected her to easily overcome Birrell, who has never been in the top 100 during her 10 years on the WTA Tour.

Despite this, Birrell played confidently and skillfully, showing no fear against the higher-ranked opponent. She matched Navarro stroke-for-stroke, putting a dent in Navarro’s preparations for the upcoming Australian Open. Birrell’s excellent performance left the home crowd cheering, and she showed that being the underdog wasn’t going to stop her. The 26-year-old Australian, ranked 113th in the world, said that she took on the challenge with a "go for it" attitude. She felt it was a situation where she had nothing to lose and just needed to give it her all. Birrell also mentioned that playing many hours on the Brisbane court helped her find her rhythm. After her win, she will now face Russian Anastasia Potapova, who is ranked 35th, in the next round.

Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov, the defending men’s champion, continued to impress in Brisbane. He defeated Australian wildcard Aleksandar Vukic 6-2, 7-6 (7/5). Dimitrov quickly won the first set but had to fight harder in the second as Vukic raised his level. After the match, Dimitrov, ranked No. 10 in the world, said that he was happy with his performance but knew he still had more work to do. He has won the Brisbane tournament twice and finished as a runner-up once. Dimitrov hopes to improve with each match, aiming to play even better in the next rounds. He will next face either Australian Jordan Thompson or American Alex Michelson in the quarter-finals.

In the doubles event, Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios, who rarely play doubles together, had a tough match. They started strong and won the first round, but in their second match, they were beaten by the top seeds, Michael Venus of New Zealand and Nikola Mektic of Croatia. The match ended with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 10/8 in favor of Venus and Mektic. The top seeds made a strong comeback in the match tiebreak, coming from three points down to win. After the match, Venus praised the skill of Djokovic and Kyrgios, saying that they hit some incredible shots. Despite being down three points in the tiebreak, Venus and Mektic managed to turn the match around with strong serving and great teamwork.

This eventful day at the Brisbane International saw exciting moments, with big wins and tough losses for some of the sport's top players.

Jan. 1, 2025 5:47 p.m. 441

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