Pint-sized Aussie brings down bigger, stronger and more powerful opponent
Little-known Australian Dane Sweeny dared to dream.
On Tuesday afternoon, against an opponent ranked 72 places higher than him and 23 centimetres taller than him, and with almost 15 years more experience, Sweeny proved anything is possible for an Australian at Melbourne Park.
In front of a roaring crowd at KIA Arena, Sweeny downed veteran Gael Monfils 6-7 (7-3), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5, to win his first Australian Open – and grand slam – match.
It was an electric performance from the pint-sized Australian, who at times looked like he was playing dodgeball rather than tennis as he dipped and dived his way around the court and towards victory.
“I’ve been doing this since before I was even aware of myself. I was two years old when I started playing, so I can’t even comprehend how much work I’ve put in – it’s been my whole life since I can remember,” Sweeny, ranked 182 in the world, said.
“I feel like I’m watching a show right now, it feels pretty unbelievable to be in this position.”
Sweeny’s acrobatics added to the theatrics of it all, which were already at the extreme as the French and Australian fans went head to head like their heroes on the court.
The match was at risk of getting away from Sweeny after Monfils, who is ranked 110 but has been as high as six in his prime, took the first set in a narrow tiebreak. However, Monfils doesn’t move like he used to, and the Frenchman was doubled over between points as he tried to catch his breath under the blaring Melbourne sun.
As they entered the second set, the two game styles became apparent.
For Sweeny, it was about bringing Monfils to the net and pushing him around the court, with the 39-year-old reluctant to rush in for drop shots and hunt down every ball like he might have in his younger years.
For Monfils, it was about the big serve and powerful ball-striking as he moved Sweeny around. The 24-year-old Australian was quick, but there was only so much court he could cover in a point, especially with how often he ended up horizontal while diving for a ball.
But in the second set, it was Monfils who lost momentum, with Sweeny playing with nothing to lose, and he carried that mentality and resilience into the third.
It was three hours of hard slog in the opening three sets, but Sweeny had to be cautious not to let Monfils back into the match. For all the Frenchman’s obvious discomfort and fatigue, he has extraordinarily resilience when it comes to five-set matches.
After going down a break in the fourth, Sweeny fought back into the set and snagged a late break to serve for the match.
With two match points in hand, Sweeny sent a forehand winner down the line and collapsed on the court as KIA Arena erupted.
Sweeny will play big-hitting American Ben Shelton in the second round.
It wasn’t quite the fairytale ending for Australia’s top female seed Maya Joint, whose Australian Open singles debut was over in 92 minutes after she went down in straight sets to Czechia’s Tereza Valentova.
It was a frustrating performance for Joint, who was the favourite to win the match, but instead lost 6-4, 6-4 to an 18-year-old opponent who had nothing to lose.
Joint said she didn’t feel any extra pressure because of her ranking.
“I’ve gotten a lot of questions on that, and honestly, the seeding didn’t really feel anything different than to a normal tournament,” Joint said.
“I wanted to do really well here. I thought I had a good chance. So it’s definitely a bit disappointing after today, but I’ll just try and get back at it next week.”
It was a different story for fellow countrywoman Taylah Preston, who won her first grand slam match with a victory on KIA Arena on Tuesday morning.
“I think it makes it more special, having done it here at home in Australia,” Preston said.
“But obviously a first grand slam win at any grand slam is special. You know, it takes a lot of hard work, and I have been working really, really hard. It’s nice to see it somewhat pay off.”
James Duckworth came from behind to win a five set epic against Dino Prizmic, however Australian wildcard Christopher O’Connell wasn’t so lucky as he lost in a tight five-set match to American qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy.
It was a similarly heartbreaking day for Daria Kasatkina, who lost in three sets to Czechia’s Nikola Bartunkova in what was her first match as an Australian at Melbourne Park.
Read more of our Australian Open coverage
Billie Eder is a sports reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.