Local star Kimberly Birrell overcomes injury heartache that put a hold on her career to be on the verge of making the Australian Open

Australian star Kimberly Birrell insists she is ready to ‘fight’ to secure a place at the Australian Open next week after advancing to the second round of women’s singles qualifying.

It’s already been a brilliant summer for the 26-year-old Gold Coast star after she stormed her way into the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International last week but painfully missed out on a semi-final place with defeat to Anhelina. Kalinina.

Her brilliant performance in Brisbane also saw her enter the top 100 of the WTA Tour rankings for the first time in her career.

Despite reaching the huge milestone, Birrell’s attention quickly turned to qualifying for the Australian Open, with the Aussie star securing a first-round victory against Sara Saito at the Kia Arena on Tuesday.

The Gold Coast star demonstrated her power by hitting some huge punches past her Japanese opponent to secure a 7-6 6-2 win.

Saito had started better in the first set, breaking her opponent to go 2-0 up, before Birrell immediately responded by hitting back with a break of her own, before going on to beat her opponent and a resulting first set tiebreak with won 7-4.

On Tuesday, she defeated Japanese star Sara Saito in straight sets during the first qualifying round for the women’s singles

“She really had a great start and yeah, I was happy that I was able to wrestle the momentum in the first set and keep that going for the second,” Birrell said after the match.

The 26-year-old turned on the afterburners in the second set and almost claimed a crucial break point at 2-2, but a resilient Saito, who is ranked 158th on the WTA Tour, sensationally saved four break points after going 40 . -love down.

On her next chance, Birrel hit back to finally break her opponent, this time winning the crucial match before sealing a 6-2 victory and the match.

“I’m just enjoying every moment of playing here, moment by moment, one game at a time,” Birrell said.

‘But I’m very happy with how I started my year, last week in Brissy. ‘It’s just as much fun playing here and yes, hopefully I can play more games.’

Birrell is looking to qualify for her sixth Australian Open this week, with her highest placing coming at her home slam in 2019, where she was knocked out in the third round of the women’s singles by Angelique Kerber.

Birrell’s journey to this year’s Australian Open has been inspiring, with the 26-year-old plagued by a troublesome elbow injury throughout her career.

She was sidelined for almost a year after the 2019 Wimbledon Championships due to the injury, making her competitive return at the Yarra Valley Classic in 2021.

Birrell has already had a great summer, shining at the Brisbane International and rising into the top 100 WTA players

She would later perform at the Australian Open, before taking another break from tennis and returning to the court in January 2022.

Last week, she had revealed that there were “periods where I didn’t know if I would get back on court, let alone at the level I was playing today.”

And as she takes every chance she gets to play at the Australian Open, Birrell insisted she was ready to fight for every point at Melbourne Park.

“It’s just as much fun playing here and yes, hopefully I can play more games,” she said.

‘It’s so special. It’s the best time of year to be an Aussie.

‘It is the pinnacle of our sport to play a Grand Slam. I will fight for every point and hope that I can play in the main tournament next week.’