Adelaide, Australia, 7 January 2025 | Sean A'Hearn

Rinky Hijikata has made the most of his late call-up as a lucky loser at the Adelaide International, playing one of the finest matches of his career to down Belgian David Goffin 6-1, 6-2.

The 23-year-old played a flawless first set, throwing in lots of variety and aggressive tennis to put Goffin on the back-foot from the word go.

Hijikata continued his domination in the second set, largely owing to his brilliant return game. While Goffin created chances of his own, Hijikata held his nerve, saving four out of five break points on serve.

While Goffin was a little off, particularly with his normally reliable backhand, Hijikata stifled the Belgian with dazzling, all-court tennis.

“It wasn’t easy. David’s been around for a long time, he’s a classy player,” said the Sydneysider.

“He actually diced me up late last year so I knew it was going to be very tough but yeah, I’m happy to get one back on him.”

Hijikata lost to his countryman in the final round of qualifying, but gained main-draw entry due to an injury withdrawal.

“When you get a lucky loser in, you pretty much have nothing to lose. I felt like I was playing with house money out here,” said Hijikata, who hopes to channel that confidence into a career-best season.

“I feel I’ve got a lot, lot more in me,” he said. “It was a good year last year but I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface yet. Good to start the year in Aus and hopefully a big year ahead.”

Lu claims all-Aussie battle

Earlier at The Drive, Li Tu claimed an all-Australian battle, with the 28-year-old a 6-1 7-5 winner over compatriot James Duckworth.

The Adelaide-born Tu, ranked world No.179 and a wildcard recipient at his home tournament, put in a gutsy performance in an, at times, gruelling match on Tuesday.

Tu dominated the first set, thanks to his brilliant return of serve and efforts in saving five break points on his own serve.

The second set was a much closer affair, as Tu edged out Duckworth by securing the only break in the 12^th game. He closed out the match in an hour and 13 minutes.

Tu’s serve was the difference in the end, particularly in the second set where the Adelaide local was almost flawless, only dropping five points in total.

“Really glad I got to get that done in the end. Duckworth is a really good competitor. I knew he would bring a high level in the second set,” said Tu.

The win will give Tu confidence and form going into the Australian Open, with the Aussie among wildcard recipients this year.

It will be his second straight appearance in a Grand Slam main draw. As a qualifier at the US Open. last year, he lost in four sets to No.2 Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.

He last competed at the Australian Open main draw in 2021.

Tu next faces French qualifier, Benjamin Bonzi who had a bye in the opening round.

Meanwhile, Alexsander Vukic fell just short after valiantly fighting back from a set down against American, Marcos Giron.

Despite a slow start in which he dropped the first set, Vukic settled in and found his range, catching the American off-guard with some aggressive hitting from the baseline.

With excellent serving under pressure, he surged ahead in the second set.

In a topsy-turvy third set, Giron lifted at the right time, breaking the Aussie in the eighth game and clinically serving out a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory.

Australia’s Adam Walton also fell first round, with Frenchman Arthur Cazaux a 6-1, 7-5 winner. Tristan Schoollkate was eliminated in straight sets by Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

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