Roger Federer to meet qualifier Jurgen Melzer in 1st round at Aussie Open
MELBOURNE, Australia — While Roger Federer spent his time at Melbourne Park on Saturday talking about his comeback at a news conference, dozens of lower-ranked players were still at work trying to earn a spot in the main draw of the Australian Open.
Austrian veteran Jurgen Melzer was among them, along with Americans Noah Rubin and Bjorn Fratangelo. Melzer’s reward for his 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Rajeev Ram out on Court 13 was a first-round match on Monday night against 17-time major winner Federer on Rod Laver Arena. Federer has won the Australian title four times, and reached the semifinals or better in 12 of the last 13 years, but hasn’t played a match for rankings points since Wimbledon.
Toronto’s Peter Polansky joined Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., in the main draw. Polansky lost in the final round of qualifying but was entered into the main tournament as a “lucky loser.” He’ll face Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round.
“I LIVE ANOTHER DAY,” tweeted Polansky after learning that he’d advanced.