When asked to describe his emotions after the game, Sweeny said he experienced a wave of euphoria.
“It was just an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and euphoria that I made it. I’m also really proud of myself for hanging on.”
Sweeny booked his first Grand Slam main draw at the Australian Open in 2024, but the now 24-year-old admits he feels more ready for the challenge this year.
“I feel like I’ve had good tennis in the past, but I don’t think I was mentally strong enough and mentally prepared for this level,” he said. “But now … I feel like I’m earning my place and showing that I have the mental capacity to perform at a high level.
Sweeny thanked his home crowd for their “exciting energy” and credited the ANZ Arena crowd for pushing him through his toughest moments.
Loading
Australia’s Storm Hunter also won her women’s qualifying singles match, defeating American Taylor Townsend in straight sets.
But one Aussie who won’t be in the main draw is Thanasi Kokkinakis, who announced on social media on Thursday that the right shoulder injury that caused him to withdraw from Adelaide will also sideline him in the singles at Melbourne Park.
In the doubles draw, he will also face Nick Kyrgios, who has also decided to play singles this year.
“Unfortunately, after speaking with my team and doctors, I have decided to withdraw from the @AustralianOpen singles,” Kokkinakis said on X.
“After an incredibly difficult year, this was the event I was looking forward to the most, but I’m not ready yet. We’ll try the doubles again.”
Kokkinakis is on the way back from a revolutionary breast reattachment operation in February last year, involving the use of an Achilles tendon graft from a dead person.
-With Marc McGowan
Roger returns to Melbourne Park, ponders the Sinner vs Alcaraz rivalry
Six-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer returned to Melbourne Park on Thursday afternoon to speak to the media ahead of the tournament’s opening ceremony – his first since 2020 in Melbourne.
Federer – who coined the term ‘Happy Slam’ for the Australian Open – said he was happy to be back and excited to play the ‘Battle of the World No.1s’ on Saturday night, joining Andre Agassi and Aussie legends Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt for a star-studded match.
Roger Federer speaks to the media ahead of the Australian Open.Credit: Getty Images
“I’m nervous, I’m excited, I’m happy to be here and I’m happy to have a moment for the crowd,” he told a packed room of reporters.
Federer reflected on the rivalry between the current top two in the world, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, and characterized their battle at Roland-Garros in 2025 as “perhaps one of the best matches we’ve played in our sport”.
“For a while, [sporting] the world stood still and watched Paris and what happened in that epic fifth set,” he said.
After the longest showdown at Roland-Garros – lasting five hours and 29 minutes – Alcaraz saved three match points in the fourth set to overcome Sinner and successfully defend his French Open crown.
Federer won his first and only title at the French Open in 2009, and his struggle to claim the crown at Roland-Garros has been compared to Alcaraz’s struggles to win the Australian Open.
“These things are tough, but at the end of the day the momentum shifts towards the first round and then it’s a point-to-point mentality,” Federer said.
“At his [Alcaraz] young age, to be able to compete in a career slam already is going to be crazy. So we’ll see if he can go crazy this week, and I hope he does, because it would be an incredible, special moment to fight again.”
Follow our Australian Open live blog every day from January 18 for results, news, analysis and interviews.
We send news, results and expert analysis from the sports weekend every Monday. Subscribe to our sports newsletter.
Leave a Reply