Australian star eyes Australian Open success after Brisbane International win
Birrell, who had to reach the Australian Open through qualification last year despite being the country’s highest-ranked woman, will be joined by a number of compatriots who entered the grand slam after the best years of their career.
Junior Maya Joint, who is currently on the Australian United Cup team, started outside the world top 100 last year and is now ranked 32nd for the grand slam having won her first WTA title.
Emerson Jones is showing what a star of the future will be like at just 17 years old, while Daria Kasatkina (world No. 40) and Ajla Tomljanovic (No. 78) are real dark horses who will shock some of the Australian Open’s best.
Only Tomljanovic has reached the second week of a grand slam (Wimbledon and the US Open in 2022) since Barty retired after winning the 2022 Grand Slam.
Loading
But Birrell felt the narrative would soon be rewritten.
“I’m really excited to be a part of the Australian women’s group. I think there’s some really great young talented players… it’s really great that we have that depth at the moment,” Birrell said.
“I was very proud to be the top-ranked Australian last year, but I knew there were reasons why some girls weren’t in the top 100 because of injuries and things like that.
“It’s an individual sport, but I like to see us as part of a team; we trust each other, especially considering how much we travel throughout the year.
“I’m excited to see what everyone can do.”
At last year’s Brisbane International, Birrell displayed giant-killing tendencies; She overtook former world No. 8 Emma Navarro (currently No. 15) and Anastasia Potapova (formerly No. 21).
The same fighting qualities were on display against Sramkova, saving five break points as her first serve power stood out at 80 percent.
“I’ve been working on my serve quite a bit over the last month. I think it started towards the end of last year and I had a moment where I was pretty frustrated with my serve,” Birrell said.
“The margins are very small at this level and I felt like that was the area I really needed to improve. For me, a lot of it is mental, I’ve had some elbow issues, so it was just giving up my arm and letting go, using my legs and really going for it and believing in it.”
