Virtually going straight from Indian Wells to Miami, Storm Hunter has fought her way through to the singles main-draw with a win over world No.112 Jules Niemeier in the final stage of qualifying.
Miami, Florida, 19 March 2024 | Rhys de Deugd
Storm Hunter will feature in the singles draw of a WTA 1000 event for the second time this year after an impressive qualifying run in Miami.
The Australian scooped a 6-4 7-5 victory in the final stage of qualifying over German Jules Niemeier in one hour and 29 minutes, to reach the Miami Open main draw for the fourth year in a row.
The win comes after a chaotic 48 hours for Hunter, who played in the doubles final at Indian Wells before facing flight delays overnight, and arriving less than an hour before her warm-up of her first qualifying match in Miami, where she prevailed in a tough three-set battle.
Hunter made sure to take her chances when they came against the world No.112, as she converted five out of a possible six break point opportunities, to lock away a place in the main draw.
The win is Hunter’s 10th triumph over a higher-ranked opponent this year.
In the men’s qualifying draw, Adam Walton is one step closer to qualifying for his maiden ATP Masters 1000 main draw after recording a win over Brazilian Thiago Monteiro.
Walton found himself a set down against the world No.110 after a tightly contested tiebreak, before squaring the ledger with in the second-set tiebreak.
The nail-biting contest only featured one break of serve for the entire match, with Walton taking his opportunity to break at 3-all in the third set, and eventually claiming one of the biggest wins of his career 6-7(5) 7-6(3) 6-4.
Walton is the last remaining Australian in Miami qualifying after Thanasi Kokkinakis retired in the second set of his match against France’s Hugo Grenier.
Aussies in action – Miami
RESULTS
Women’s qualifying singles, final round
Storm Hunter (AUS) d Jules Niemeier (GER) 6-4 7-5
Men’s qualifying singles, first round
Adam Walton (AUS) d [20] Thiago Monteiro (BRA) 6-7(5) 7-6(3) 6-4
Hugo Grenier (FRA) d [14] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 6-4 4-1 ret.
COMING UP
Men’s qualifying singles, final round
Adam Walton (AUS) v [8] Pedro Martinez (ESP)
Men’s singles, first round
[9] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Bye
Jordan Thompson (AUS) v Nuno Borges (POR)
Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v Facundo Diaz Acosta (ARG)
Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) v Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP)
Max Purcell (AUS) v Marton Fucsovics (HUN)
Rinky Hijikata (AUS) v Botic van de Zandschulp (NED)
Chris O’Connell (AUS) v Qualifier
> VIEW: Miami Open men’s singles draw
Women’s singles, first round
Daria Saville (AUS) v Zhang Shuai (CHN)
[Q] Storm Hunter (AUS) v Martina Trevisan (ITA)
> VIEW: Miami Open women’s singles draw
Men’s doubles, first round
[1] Matt Ebden (AUS)/Rohan Bopanna (IND) v Simone Bolelli (ITA)/Andrea Vavassori (ITA)
John Peers (AUS)/Harri Heliovaara (FIN) v Marcelo Arevalo (ESA)/Mate Pavic (CRO)
Alex de Minaur (AUS)/Rinky Hijikata (AUS) v [WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)/Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE)
Max Purcell (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) v Ariel Behar (URU)/Adam Pavlasek (CZE)
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