Britain’s Francesca Jones is through to the final round of Australian Open qualifying with victory over Jana Fett.
Playing in what is her maiden overseas Grand Slam qualifying draw, the 20-year-old defeated the Croat 7-6 (9-7) 2-6 6-1 in Dubai.
She will play China’s world number 200 Lu Jiajing in the third qualifying round for a place in her first Grand Slam main draw.
Jones is the only Briton remaining in Australian Open qualifying.
Meanwhile, Canada’s former world number five Eugenie Bouchard – one of the most high-profile players taking part in qualifying – lost her second-round match.
The 26-year-old, now ranked 141st, was beaten 6-2 6-4 by China’s world number 230 Yue Yuan.
Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova, who reached the US Open quarter-finals in September after a three-year hiatus from the game, is one more victory away from reaching the main draw in Melbourne.
Pironkova, 33, moved into the final qualifying round by winning 6-0 3-6 6-1 against South Korea’s Han Na-Lae.
In men’s qualifying, Australia’s Bernard Tomic survived a match point before fighting back to win 6-4 1-6 7-6 (10-3) against his compatriot Tristan Schoolkate.
In 2016, Tomic was ranked 17th in the world but the 28-year-old has since slid down to 228th. He has pledged to “try” in qualifying for his home Grand Slam after previously being fined for “not meeting professional standards” at Wimbledon in 2019 and admitting struggling for motivation.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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