Aussie tennis stars hit the grass ahead of Wimbledon

Australian tennis is out in force this week, with stars from the men’s and women’s game taking to the grass ahead of Wimbledon.

At the Nottingham Open, two of Australia’s top women found success.

Daria Saville, No.84 in the world, upset fourth seed Clara Burel, 6-3, 6-3, at the WTA 250 event. Inspired by her compatriot, world No.148 Kimberly Birrell also won on Tuesday, defeating Emily Appleton, 6-3, 7-5.

Over in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Arina Rodionova wasn’t so lucky.

The Aussie fell in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, to Ekaterina Alexandrova. However, it was a better opening round for Australia’s men at the Libema Open.

Two ATP players got wins, with Aleksandar Vukic and Alexei Popyrin moving to the second round. Both saw off fellow countrymen, defeating Max Purcell and Rinky Hijikata, respectively.

The pair join top seed and Aussie No.1 Alex de Minaur in the next round of the ATP 250 tournament. He’ll open his campaign this Thursday against Zizou Bergs.

De Minaur looks to keep momentum going in ‘s-Hertogenbosch

After making a career-best French Open quarter-final last week, de Minaur is well positioned to have an excellent grass-court season.

The world No.9 favours the surface over clay, with his game better suited to the fast-paced courts.

Tennis bookmakers have de Minaur as a $4 favourite to win the ATP 250 tournament in Den Bosch, with Tallon Griekspoor, Karen Khachanov and Tommy Paul sharing the second line of betting at $7 apiece.

It’s no easy path for him in the Netherlands, however.

After his opening match against Bergs, de Minaur will likely have to go through former world No.3 Milos Raonic in the quarter-finals. On the other side of the Canadian lies the dangerous Adrian Mannarino, one of the few grass-court specialists remaining on tour.

If he makes the final, de Minaur will more than likely need to take out either Griekspoor, Khachanov or Paul.

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