Priscilla Hon’s first Australian Open win in six years came was a highlight of Monday’s action in Melbourne — but the Aussie’s sportsmanship towards a visibly ailing Marina Stakusic was the most impressive sight from her milestone.
The 27-year-old Queenslander was serving for the match at 5-3 in the deciding set when Stakusic collapsed near the baseline, visibly in pain after struggling with apparent cramps for several games. Both tournament officials and Hon immediately rushed to aid the 21-year-old qualifier, who was making her Australian Open main-draw debut. The Australian comforted Stakusic as she was attended to, helped to lift Stakusic onto a wheelchair, and held her leg as she was taken off the court.
Australian Open: Scores | Draws | Order of play
Stakusic retired from the match with the scoreboard reading 1-6, 6-4, 5-3 in Hon’s favor.
“Obviously I didn’t want to win like that, but I do feel very relieved that I’m through to the second round,” Hon said later. “I really hope she does feel better because that was quite a scene out there.”
Stakusic wasn’t the only player to struggle with cramps on the second day of the event. As temperatures climbed north of 80 degrees Fahrenheit, her countryman, No. 7 men’s seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, was down two-sets-to-one against Portugal’s Nuno Borges when he retired with cramps. Conditions were similar on Day 1, when Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez went viral for her kindness towards a sick ball kid during her first-round upset win over No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova.
“It was definitely warm out there, and I think as well with the nerves, the stress levels, it just all impacts it,” Hon assessed. “Obviously everyone is really stressed with playing in a Grand Slam, so it doesn’t help in that way.”
Stakusic had previously leveled the final set at 3-3 from 3-1 behind as cramping initially set in — even conceding a point in the seventh game to get to a changeover for medical attention.
Hon later told reporters that finding a competitive balance and the right strategy against a visibly unwell opponent “messes with your head,” but with the pressure of sealing a much-wanted win at home now over, she said she’ll be ready to swing out in the hopes of upsetting No. 29 seed Iva Jovic next.
“I just really want to get past that first round. Now I feel a lot more relieved. I feel like I’m more comfortable, and I can back myself more in the second round,” the Aussie, who reached the third round at the US Open last summer, added. “I feel like going into the next round I feel like I can play with a lot more freedom.”
