Dane once had a GoFundMe for his tennis career. Now he’s guaranteed $150k

Australian Dane Sweeny collapsed to the ground after winning a nail-biting tiebreak over Italian player Stefano Travaglia on Thursday afternoon, having booked a coveted spot in the Australian Open singles draw.

Ranked as low as 680th in the world last year, Sweeny’s meteoric comeback continued with a 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3) in the men’s qualifying final in front of a packed crowd at ANZ Arena.

A spot in the main draw means he has secured a minimum of $150,000 in prizemoney, a welcome payday for a player who once started a GoFundMe page in a desperate bid to keep chasing his dream.

Sweeny said the money would ease the financial pressures of being on tour, but admitted he wanted to “surrender the part of me that wants to play to be someone or to earn money”.

“I really [want] to play tennis to learn about myself and to grow and just be the best I can be,” he said.

Sweeny soaked up the roaring atmosphere and showcased his acrobatic flexibility on court, dipping, sliding and playfully headbutting a rogue ball during the second set.

Sunscreen-clad spectators crowded the arena and sat in any available space, including the staircase or doorways, cheering on the Aussie who was overcome with emotion at the end of the match.

“It’s definitely a pinch myself moment,” he said in a post-match interview. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed of.”

When asked to describe his emotions after match point, Sweeny said he experienced a wave of euphoria.

“It was just an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and euphoria for achieving that. I’m also really proud of myself for persevering.”

Sweeny booked his first grand slam main draw berth at the Australian Open in 2024, however the now 24-year-old concedes he feels more ready for the challenge this year.

“I feel like I had good tennis in the past, but I don’t think I was mentally strong enough and mentally ready for this level,” he said. “But now… I do feel like I’m earning my spot, and I’m showing I do have the mental capacity to be able to perform at the high level.”

Sweeny thanked his home crowd for their “exhilarating energy”, crediting the ANZ Arena audience for pushing him in his hardest moments.

Sweeny will now face veteran French star Gael Monfils in the first round of the Australian Open, while fellow qualifier Jason Kubler will face American 29th seed Frances Tiafoe.

Fellow Australian Storm Hunter also won her women’s qualifying singles battle, defeating American Taylor Townsend in straight sets.

Maddison Inglis set up an All-Australian battle in the first round with Adelaide semi-finalist Kim Birrell, while Daria Kasatkina and Priscilla Hon will face a pair of qualifiers.

But one Australian who won’t be in the main draw is Thanasi Kokkinakis, who announced on social media on Thursday that the right shoulder injury that caused his withdrawal from Adelaide would also stop him contesting the singles at Melbourne Park.

He will still compete in the doubles draw with Nick Kyrgios, who also opted against playing singles this year.

“Unfortunately after speaking with my team and doctors, I have made the decision to pull out of the @AustralianOpen singles,” Kokkinakis said on X.

“After an incredibly tough year, this was the event I was looking forward to the most, but I’m not ready yet. We will still give doubles a go.”

Kokkinakis is on the comeback trail from revolutionary pectoral reattachment surgery in February last year, including the use of an Achilles tendon graft from a dead person.
- With Marc McGowan

‘Can’t cramp under 30 degrees’: Aussie in Adelaide semi

Australia’s Kimberly Birrell has secured an Adelaide International semi-final berth after emerging triumphant in a match she rates among her most gruelling.

But Australia’s top-ranked female Maya Joint has been tipped from the tournament, hammered by Russia’s world No.8 Mirra Andreeva 6-2, 6-0.

Joint, ranked 32 in the world, suffered serious service yips against the top seed, holding just one game on serve in Thursday night’s lopsided quarter-final.

Her compatriot Birrell, given a wildcard into the WTA 500 event, overcame Romanian qualifier Jaqueline Cristian 5-7, 6-1, 7-5 in her quarter-final.

Birrell’s triumph came as the Adelaide title defence of American star Madison Keys was ended by rising Canadian Victoria Mboko.

The 19-year-old Mboko downed the reigning Australian Open champion 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

Mboko, after last year rising from being ranked below 300 to now being world No.17, will play Birrell in the 27-year-old Australian’s first WTA semi-final.

Birrell prevailed against Cristian in a long and absorbing battle.

“Just the momentum shifts and how we both fought, I think we both completely emptied our tanks,” Birrell, the world No.107, said.

“Honestly, it’s probably easier to say after winning, but it’s one of the reasons I just love tennis so much – because it tests you physically and mentally.

“It wasn’t just about tennis out there today. It was about who could fight and who could keep believing in themselves.

“I’m really proud of myself that I just kept doing that until the last point.”

Birrell said the physical nature of the clash took a toll, despite the mild temperatures of around 20 degrees.

“Just the length of some of the points that we had, had the lactic acid pumping,” she said.

“I’m not sure what would have happened if I had to keep playing that last game; I really needed that last point because I could really feel my right quad starting to cramp.

“I told myself that I’m an Aussie - I can’t cramp under 30 degrees.”
- AAP

Roger returns to Melbourne Park, reflects on the Sinner v Alcaraz rivalry

Six-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer returned to Melbourne Park on Thursday afternoon and spoke with media ahead of the tournament’s opening ceremony – marking his first time back in Melbourne since 2020.

Federer – who coined the term “Happy Slam” for the Australian Open – said he was happy to return and was excited to play in the “Battle of the World No.1s” on Saturday night, joining Andre Agassi and Australian legends Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt for a star-studded match.

“I’m nervous, I’m excited, I’m happy I’m here, and I’m happy there’s a moment for the crowd,” he told a packed room of reporters.

Federer reflected on the rivalry between the current top two in the world, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, and characterised their 2025 Roland-Garros battle as “maybe one of the greatest games we’ve had in our sport”.

“For a moment, the [sporting] world stood still and watched towards Paris and what was going on in that epic fifth set,” he said.

After the longest Roland-Garros showdown - lasting five hours and 29 minutes – Alcaraz saved three match points in the fourth set before rallying to outlast Sinner and successfully defend his French Open crown.

Federer won his first and only French Open title in 2009 and his struggle to obtain the Roland-Garros crown has been compared to Alcaraz’s difficulty in winning the Australian Open.

“These things are tough, but at the end of the day, momentum shifts towards the first round and then it’s point-to-point mentality,” Federer said.

“At his [Alcaraz] young age, to be able to compete a career slam already now will be crazy. So let’s see if he is able to do crazy this week and I hope he does, because for the game again, that would be an unbelievable, special moment.”

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