Jodie Burrage puts injury misery behind her with emotional Australian Open win
The 25-year-old Briton, who missed most of last season through injury, defeated qualifier Leolia Jeanjean.
Jodie Burrage let the tears flow after what she rated as one of the best wins of her career at the Australian Open.
The 25-year-old Briton admitted ahead of the tournament that she considered quitting the sport a couple of months ago, but she tasted victory in the main draw at Melbourne Park for the first time with a 6-2 6-4 success against French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean.
After her final forehand dribbled over the net, Burrage covered her face with her hands as the emotion of the moment caught up with her before sobbing into her towel.
It was her first match at a grand slam since a first-round defeat here last year, with Burrage suffering a wrist injury in February that needed surgery before rupturing an ankle ligament just as she was about to make her comeback.
“I think I was really nervous for this match, even last night,” said a beaming Burrage, who faces a formidable challenge next against third seed Coco Gauff.
“I have not had that in a while. I think, because I know I have been playing some good tennis, I know what a good opportunity today was. I knew the hard work that went in for the last year. All of those emotions from the last nine months I think were bottled up in there.
“Everything I did, all I was saying is, ‘I want to get to Australia, I know I’ll be good in Australia’. So I didn’t really want to let the opportunity go to waste today. I’m very happy that I managed to get over the line. I think I handled myself well throughout the match.
“Just at the end, it was always going to come out at some point. I’m just very, very happy. It was definitely up there with one of the best wins of my career.”
She missed the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open last year and was at her lowest moment as she tried to work her way back up the rankings at lower-tier events during the autumn.
But a title in Dubai, the biggest of her career, to end the season gave her a huge boost and Burrage produced a fluent display against Jeanjean for just her third victory at a slam.
She used her powerful groundstrokes and serve to good effect and did not face a break point throughout the 73-minute contest.
While Burrage relished the occasion after everything she has been through, she admitted she could barely eat breakfast because she was so nervous and gratitude at being back on court has not dulled her competitive spirit.
Next up, the world number 173 must try to get the better of Gauff, who arrived in Melbourne as the most in-form woman on tour.
“It will be fun,” said Burrage, who won just two games in their only previous meeting at Eastbourne in 2023.
“I’m going to take it to her, see if I can get more games than last time, which wasn’t very many. I feel like I’m in a different spot to the last time I played her.”
Gauff finished last season by winning the WTA Finals and kicked off this year helping the United States claim the United Cup trophy, where her victories included one against Iga Swiatek.
British number four Harriet Dart only found out she had made it into the main draw shortly before going on court against Croatian qualifier Jana Fett.
Dart lost in the final round of qualifying on Thursday but knew she would take the spot should anyone withdraw, and former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova was unable to recover from an injury.
Dart had to fight to the last to take advantage of the opportunity, battling cramp and a calf problem before winning a deciding tie-break after three hours and 14 minutes for a 7-5 2-6 7-6 (10/7) victory.
The 28-year-old struggled to hold back tears in the final stages after saving two match points and is through to the second round here for the first time in five years, where she will play 18th seed Donna Vekic.
“I’m a little bit tired, for sure,” said Dart. “Yesterday was a really long day. Here all day, never really know what’s going to happen with being the first lucky loser.
“Today I got here pretty early, practised, was fortunate enough to be able to play. When you get a chance, you really want to take it, and I was just really happy to get over the line today.”
