- Sweeny defeated 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 2-6 by Francisco Cerúndolo
- Australian cult hero takes No 22 seed to the wire in brilliant AO debut
His bloodied knuckles were better suited to a street fighter. His desperate lunges – many ending in a full splits – warranted praise from a ballerina.
But it was the tenacity and tennis craft of unheralded Sunshine Coast qualifier Dane Sweeny that almost secured an unlikely victory in his spectacular duel against Argentina’s Francisco Cerúndolo that highlighted the Australian Open’s first ever Sunday start.