Sharing advice in moments of self-doubt helped the Australians win their opening matches but they face formidable opponents next
As Ajla Tomljanović slumped into her courtside chair in New York on Monday after a stirring victory in her comeback to tennis, parts of her were aching that she did not know existed. The Australian, who had not played since last November due to a knee injury, had a stunned expression on her face as she soaked in the applause ringing around the outside court. A star of last year’s US Open when ending the career of Serena Williams, and now a Netflix celebrity on Break Point as well, she looked towards her father, Ratko, before asking: “How?”
How, indeed? Until two weeks ago, Tomljanović was not sure she would be able to return to New York after suffering a recent setback while training in California. It has been a rough year. On Saturday the 30-year-old described the last eight months as awful due to the amount of rehabilitation required just to get back to the grand slam stage. The knee cartilage issue will need to be managed for the rest of her career, but the three-time grand slam quarter-finalist felt confident enough to give it another crack.