Seven Americans win their way into Australian Open main draw

MELBOURNE - There’s a special feeling that goes along with accomplishing quests the old-fashioned way as Americans Noah Rubin and Frances Tiafoe learned when they qualified for the Australian Open main draw on Saturday.

In total, five American men survived three rounds of qualifying to gain entry into the main draw with Bjorn Fratangelo, Reilly Opelka and Ernesto Escobedo joining Rubin and Tiafoe in achieving that feat.

Two American women - Jennifer Brady and Julia Boserup – also qualified for main-draw action.

Neither the 197th-ranked Rubin nor the 107th-ranked Tiafoe are strangers to Grand Slam action. Rubin’s been in two Grand Slams and Tiafoe in three, but those opportunities came via wildcard offerings.

Rubin, 20, who won a round as a wildcard recipient at last year’s Australian Open, upset 11th seed Evgeny Donskoy of Russia 6-2, 6-4 to earn passage into this year’s main draw.

“Everybody likes wildcards because you get into tournaments you’re not supposed to, but my best tournaments have been through qualifying,” Rubin said. "I’m excited to see where this one takes me. I was playing some really tough guys for three rounds, and to know I was playing consistently through the three matches and earned my way there is a great feeling.”

The 18-year-old Tiafoe’s yet to win a Grand Slam main draw match but is hoping that privilege will happen here after successfully going through the qualifying process.

“There’s a lot of things to say about getting a wildcard, but going through the tough way you feel better,” Tiafoe said. “It’s good satisfaction because you know you did it and no one can take it from you.”

Now that he’s into the main event, Tiafoe admitted to only wish prior to the qualifiers being slotted into main draw spots.

“One thing I heard is Fed (Roger Federer) plays a qualifier, and as much as I love Fed and would like to play him, I’d really rather not,” he said, laughing.

For the 114th-ranked Frantangelo, qualifying into this Australian Open keeps an important personal winning streak alive.

“This is my sixth straight major in the main draw, so I’m happy to keep that streak going,” said Frantangelo, who has won only one main-draw match in those six appearances. “Hopefully I can do a little damage in this main draw.”

The 115th-ranked Brady came close to securing her first Grand Slam main-draw position at last year’s U.S. Open but lost out to fellow American Taylor Townsend in the final round of qualifying. On Saturday in Melbourne, Brady scored revenge by ousting Townsend in a third qualifying match 7-5, 6-4 to finally become a Grand Slam main-draw player.

“Serving out the last game I was pretty nervous,” Brady said. “I’ve worked so hard this offseason, so coming here and qualifying is a huge confidence booster.”

The initial hand work done, the qualifiers await their fate as to who they'll play in the first round. And for Tiafoe, that wait includes the hope he's not lined up next to 17-time Grand Slam champion Federer.