Local tennis star Eliza Long fell just short of advancing to the second round of qualifying of the Bendigo International on Sunday.
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Long fought bravely, but went down to fellow Australian Alicia Smith 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 in a 133-minute marathon – the longest match of the opening day.
Long went into her first round clash against Smith as the outsider and it looked as though she would be in for a tough day when she fell 3-0 down early in the first set.
She showed great composure to work herself back into the set. From 5-2 down, Long won four of the next five games to force a tie-breaker.
With the Bendigo crowd cheering her on, Long played the steadier tennis in the tie-break and she claimed the opening set.
Long couldn’t take that momentum into the second set. Smith started the set brightly and, unlike the opening set, she didn’t give Long a second chance.
Smith took the set 6-3 and her consistency was too much for Long in the third set.
The Bendigonian pushed hard right to the end, but Smith proved too good on the day.
Smith moves through to the second round of qualifying on Monday where she’ll play American Yuki Kristina Chiang.
Other impressive winners on the opening day of the Bendigo International qualifying were Australian duo Michaela Haet and Binasa Beslagic, the Ukraine’s Marianna Zakarlyuk and the USA’s Shelby Talcott.
The winners of the eight second round matches on Monday will qualify for the final round of qualifying for the main draw on Tuesday.
Italy’s Georgia Brescia, ranked 460 in the world, is the number one seed in qualifying. After a first round bye she’ll play New Zealand’s Tiana Windbuchler in the opening game on Monday.
That match will be followed by the first appearance of second-seeded Brazilian Gabriela Ce.
Play on Monday starts from 10am at the Bendigo Tennis Centre in Nolan Street. Entry is free for spectators.
