Luksika storms into the main draw of Aust Open

Luksika Kumkhum hopes to keep up her good form.

Luksika Kumkhum became the third Thai woman in history to enter the main draw of a Grand Slam singles event when she upset Russia's Marta Sirotkina 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 6-2 in the Australian Open qualifying round yesterday.

The 19-year-old Thai was engaged again in a three-setter battle but saved her best for the last to win the final set. Despite serving six double faults in the two and a quarter-hour match, the Thai hit some terrific double-fisted groundstrokes to upend the 146th ranked Russian, who beat her last year in Bangkok.

Luksika follows in the footsteps on Tamarine Tanasugarn and Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, who were the first two Thais to play in the main draw of a major singles event.

"I was hoping that I would make it to the main draw but I never expected to become a reality. It's like a dream come true to be able to play in a Grand Slam," said the Thai No 2, who is currently No 201 in the world.

Sponsored by Boonrawd Brewery and trained at the Pyramid Academy with Sruang Uraiwan as head coach, Luksika played her only warm-up tournament in Auckland before Melbourne and lost the final qualifying round to Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 4-6.

Against Sirotkina, Luksika fought back from a break down to take the first set in one hour. After allowing the opponent to dictate play in the second set, she regained her composure to win the decider. The Thai needed three sets to win all three qualifying matches.

"I was playing quite well today, not giving her easy points. But in the second set she hit a lot of winners and I could barely retrieve her shots. However I kept the ball deep in the final set to prevent her from stepping up onto the court," said Luksika, who will play world No 38 Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden in the first round on Tuesday.

"I'm quite excited to play in the main draw where every opponent is tough. I hope to keep up with my form and stay in the tournament," the teenager said.

Latest stories in this category

• A surreal experience at Atletico: Teerasil


• Thai forward Teerasil Dangda said it was a surreal..


• Luksika storms into the main draw of Aust Open


• Can't look beyond the big three

We Recommend

• Ambulance refused to photographer at Parliament


• Medical staff at Parliament House yesterday..


• Siam Center set for hi-tech reopening


• Ministry cuts 5cm rule on schoolboys' hair length

Comments conditions

Users are solely responsible for their comments.We reserve the right to remove any comment and revoke posting rights for any reason withou prior notice.

Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/01/13/luksika-storms-into-the-main-draw-of-aust-open/