{"id":404660,"date":"2026-01-12T13:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T13:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/404660\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T13:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T13:26:08","slug":"gbs-evans-out-in-first-round-of-melbourne-qualifying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/404660\/","title":{"rendered":"GB’s Evans out in first round of Melbourne qualifying"},"content":{"rendered":"

Great Britain’s Dan Evans missed out on the Australian Open main draw for a second successive year as he fell in the first round of qualifying in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old struggled with his serve in a 6-1 6-2 defeat by Japan’s Rei Sakamoto.<\/p>\n

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Former British number one Evans recorded four double faults and did not create a single break point in a 66-minute defeat.<\/p>\n

Evans’ sole Grand Slam appearance last year was at Wimbledon, where he was given a main draw wildcard.<\/p>\n

Fellow Britons Jay Clarke and Jack Pinnington Jones also fell in straight sets in the first round of qualifying, while Oliver Crawford lost 6-3 2-6 6-3 to Spain’s Daniel Merida Aguilar.<\/p>\n

Arthur Fery and George Loffhagen recorded more positive results, with Fery beating Australia’s Edward Winter 6-2 6-4 and Loffhagen overcoming Germany’s Justin Engel 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2).<\/p>\n

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Players have to progress through three qualifying rounds to reach the main draw, which begins on Sunday, 18 January.<\/p>\n

Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley are already in the men’s main draw, while Emma Raducanu, Francesca Jones and Sonay Kartal will feature in the women’s.<\/p>\n

Katie Boulter, who is currently 113th in the world rankings, will no longer have to go through qualifying after several high-profile withdrawals secured her place in the main draw.<\/p>\n

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The 29-year-old will play in the Australian Open main draw for a third consecutive year.<\/p>\n

Current women’s doubles world number two Taylor Townsend and former US Open champion Sloane Stephens also reached the second round of qualifying on Monday.<\/p>\n

Townsend came back from a set down and eventually converted her sixth match point to defeat Japan’s Nao Hibino 6-7 (3-7) 6-0 7-5.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, former world number three Stephens claimed her first win since Wimbledon 2024 with a 6-1 7-5 victory over Czech Barbora Palicova.<\/p>\n

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American Stephens missed much of the 2025 season because of a foot injury.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Britain’s Norrie continued his Australian Open preparations with a comfortable victory over Hugo Gaston at the Auckland Classic.<\/p>\n

Norrie beat the Frenchman 6-3 6-4 to set up a last-16 tie against either Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut or France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old pulled away from his opponent after breaking serve at 2-2 and 5-3, wrapping the first set up in 34 minutes.<\/p>\n

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Gaston, ranked 94th in the world, put up more of a fight in the second set, holding serve after eight deuces for 2-2 and recreating his viral mid-match French fry-eating moment with a fan during the break in play.<\/p>\n

Norrie, who grew up in Auckland, reached the final of the tournament in 2019 and 2023.<\/p>\n

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