Adelaide, Australia, 8 January 2023 | Leigh Rogers

Australian hopes have made a strong start in the Adelaide International 2 men’s qualifying singles competition.

Jordan Thompson, Chris O’Connell and John Millman all won their opening-round matches today at The Drive.

The eighth-seeded Thompson fired 11 aces and did not drop serve in his 6-4 6-4 victory against world No.88 Roman Safiullin.

World No.78 O’Connell had to fight harder in an all-Australian battle with 21-year-old wildcard Rinky Hijikata. The fifth-seeded O’Connell eventually triumphed 3-6 6-1 6-2.

O’Connell will face another Australian in the final qualifying round.

Millman, who only needed 56 minutes to eliminate world No.72 Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles today, is his next opponent.

Main-draw action begins tomorrow, with an all-Australian showdown between defending champion Thanasi Kokkinakis and in-form Alexei Popyrin headlining the night session.

> BUY NOW: Adelaide International tickets

The Adelaide International 2, a combined ATP 250 and WTA 500 event, is part of a two-week Adelaide Festival of Tennis. The festival includes back-to-back tournaments and concludes on 14 January.

AUSSIES IN ACTION – Adelaide

TODAY’S RESULTS
Men’s qualifying singles, first round
[5] Chris O’Connell (AUS) d [WC] Rinky Hijikata (AUS) 3-6 6-1 6-2
[8] Jordan Thompson (AUS) d Roman Safiullin 6-4 6-4
John Millman (AUS) d [3] Bernabe Zapata Miralles (ESP) 6-2 6-2
[6] Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ARG) d [WC] Luke Saville (AUS) 6-1 6-3

COMING UP
Men’s qualifying singles, final round
[5] Chris O’Connell (AUS) v John Millman (AUS)
[8] Jordan Thompson (AUS) v [2] Mikael Ymer (SWE)

Women’s singles, first round
[WC] Jaimee Fourlis (AUS) v Ekaterina Alexandrova
[WC] Storm Hunter (AUS) v Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)

> VIEW: Full Adelaide International women’s singles draw

Men’s singles, first round
[WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) v [WC] Alexei Popyrin (AUS)
[WC] Jason Kubler (AUS) v Qualifier

> VIEW: Full Adelaide International men’s singles draw

Women’s doubles, first round
[1] Storm Hunter (AUS)/Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) v Anna Danilina (KAZ)/Sania Mirza (IND)
Sam Stosur (AUS)/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) v [2] Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)/Giuliana Olmos (MEX)
[WC] Alana Parnaby (AUS)/Olivia Tjandramulia (AUS) v Alicja Rosolska (POL)/Erin Routliffe (NZL)

Men’s doubles, first round
[5] Matt Ebden (AUS)/Rohan Bopanna (IND) v Bye
John Peers (AUS)/Andreas Mies (GER) v Guillermo Duran (ARG)/Philipp Oswald (AUT)
[WC] Jeremy Beale (AUS)/Luke Saville (AUS) v Julian Cash (GBR)/Henry Patten (GBR)
[WC] Blake Ellis (AUS)/Andrew Harris (AUS) v Maxime Cressy (USA)/Albano Olivetti (FRA)

Book online, play today: Visit play.tennis.com.au to get out on court and have some fun!