Melbourne, Australia, 24 January 2024 | Leigh Rogers

It has been a memorable day for the Jones family at Australian Open 2024, with siblings Hayden and Emerson Jones advancing to their first Grand Slam singles quarterfinals.

The 15-year-old Emerson was the first to progress, after recording a 7-5 6-3 victory against American Tyra Caterina Grant in the third round of the girls’ singles competition.

“It’s pretty great,” said the Gold Coast-based Jones after beating the world No.12 in 96 minutes.

“I wasn’t really expecting to go this far.”

Contesting her fifth junior Grand Slam tournament, this betters Jones’ third-round appearances in the girls’ singles events at Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year.

Jones, who sits at a career-high world No.8 in the junior rankings, also extends her current winning streak to nine matches.

It follows an impressive run at the Traralgon Junior International last week, which saw Jones become the first Australian to clinch the girls’ singles title in 24 years.

“I played pretty well in Traralgon, but I’ve just got to keep my level here,” said Jones, who becomes the first Aussie to reach this stage in an Australian Open girls’ singles draw since Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz in 2022.

“There’s a lot of great players in juniors, so I have to play my best to beat them.”

Her older brother, 17-year-old Hayden, followed on Court 3 in a third-round boys’ singles clash with Poland’s Tomasz Berkieta.

Jones notched a steely 6-4 5-7 7-5 victory against the big-hitting third seed, who tallied 49 winners to the Australian’s 16 in the two-hour battle.

World No.33 Jones’ consistency paid off, committing only 16 unforced errors compared to world No.8 Berkieta’s 48.

Jones, who is the first Australian to advance to a boys’ singles quarterfinal at the Australian Open since Rinky Hijikata in 2018, is now the only seeded player remaining in his half of the draw.

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Aussies in action – Australian Open

TODAY’S RESULTS
Girls’ singles, third round
[6] Emerson Jones (AUS) d [9] Tyra Caterina Grant (USA) 7-5 6-3
[1] Renata Jamrichova (SVK) d Maya Joint (AUS) 6-4 6-3

Boys’ singles, third round
[16] Hayden Jones (AUS) d [3] Tomasz Berkieta (POL) 6-4 5-7 7-5
[4] Rei Sakamoto (JPN) d [13] Pavle Marinkov (AUS) 4-6 6-0 6-1

Girls’ doubles, quarterfinals
Julie Pastikova (CZE)/Julia Stusek (GER) d [6] Maya Joint (AUS)/Kristiana Sidorova 0-6 6-1 [10-5]

COMING UP
Girls’ singles, quarterfinals
[6] Emerson Jones (AUS) v [2] Sara Saito (JPN)

Boys’ singles, quarterfinals
[16] Hayden Jones (AUS) v Jan Kumstat (CZE)

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