Agony and ecstasy for Wimbledon hopefuls

Australian teenager Destanee Aiava is a win away from snaring a prized ticket to Wimbledon, while compatriot Andrew Whittington has secured a grand slam debut.

Destanee Aiava

Australian Destanee Aiava will play NZ's Marina Erakovic for a place in Wimbledon's main draw. (AAP)

There's been agony and ecstasy on a wild day for Australia's Wimbledon dreamers.

Unheralded Andrew Whittington saved two match points and fought from two sets down to earn a lucrative grand slam debut, while history-making teenage ace Destanee Aiava moved tantalisingly close to snaring her prized ticket to tennis's biggest show.

But there was only heartache for John-Patrick Smith, who fell 4-6 7-6 6-4 4-6 12-10 to Chilean Christian Garin in a five-set cliffhanger.

Lizette Cabrera also lost - 6-3 6-3 to German Tamara Korpatsche in the second round of women's qualifying - but there was only joy for Whittington, Aiava and Arina Rodionova.

Whittington was halfway out the exit gates when trailing experienced American Denis Kudla two sets to love and 6-4 in the third-set tiebreaker before staging a remarkable fightback.

The 23-year-old eventually prevailed 4-6 2-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-0 to guarantee himself the biggest pay day of his career - at least Stg35,000 ($59,000)

Aiava crushed seeded Czech Barbora Krejcikova 6-2 6-1 to storm into the final round of women's qualifying.

The 17-year-old broke new ground in January when she became the first player born this century to contest a grand slam event.

But while Tennis Australia granted her a wildcard into the Australian Open, the Melburnian is now two sets away from needing no such charity to secure a spot in the 128-strong main draw.

One of the hottest prospects in women's tennis, Aiava has rocketed up to 170th in the rankings in 2017 having long been earmarked for stardom.

At just 12, she took out the Longines Future Tennis Aces tournament during the French Open in Paris, in doing so winning the right to play alongside Steffi Graf in an exhibition match.

Less fancied but no less impressive, Rodionova also progressed to the final round of the cut-throat Wimbledon prelude with a spirited 2-6 6-2 7-5 win over two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist Kaia Kanepi.


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Source: AAP



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