To the growing cast of eastern Europeans playing under the welcoming Australian tennis banner, add another foreign name: Daria Gavrilova. Age: 20. Birthplace: Russia. Singles gold medallist at the 2010 Youth Olympics. Former world No.1 junior.
Just weeks after the surprise defection of the talented Ajla Tomljanovic to join the well-resourced Tennis Australia program, Gavrilova was scheduled to make her grand slam debut as an Australian in Wednesday's US Open qualifying tournament at Flushing Meadows, having drawn unseeded Slovenian Tadeja Majeric in the opening round.
Under WTA rules, the Moscow native cannot represent her adopted nation at regular tour events - only the four majors - until granted Australian citizenship. Zagreb-born Tomljanovic - coached since late last year by former Fed Cup captain David Taylor - applied for permanent residency at the start of 2014, and expects to become a citizen in 2015. Amendments to the immigration act were passed in 2009 to help accommodate elite athletes whose travel requirements had prevented them from spending the number of months in the country generally needed to obtain an Australian passport.
Although Gavrilova's residency status is unclear, her potential has been apparent for some time. The 166-centimetre right-hander known to her friends as "Dasha" won the 2010 US Open juniors and reached the girls’ final at the 2009 French Open, upset seasoned Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in her tour-level debut in the Netherlands, and beat contemporary Eugenie Bouchard in Australian Open qualifying in 2013. Her ranking peaked at No. 128 before a knee reconstruction last October. She is currently 330th.
The long-time girlfriend of former Wimbledon boys' champion Luke Saville and a regular at Melbourne Park, Gavrilova marked her July comeback from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament with an ITF doubles title in Sacramento, partnering West Australian Storm Sanders. This week, she tweeted: "AUS!!!!!! I am so proud to be playing US Open as an Australian! #newbeginning @ Tennis Australia''.
Gavrilova's defection brings to five the number of adopted Australians contesting the main and qualifying singles draws at the year's final grand slam - five of the unofficial women's top 12, in fact, although Tomljanovic and Gavrilova are still recognised as Croatian and Russian respectively on the official rankings list.
Other Australians born overseas who emigrated as children include Bernard Tomic (from Germany, born to Croatian parents), Marinko Matosevic (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Matt Ebden (South Africa) and Jelena Dokic (Serbia), while New Zealander Sacha Jones made a controversial switch of allegiance for the final two years of a career ended, prematurely, by injury in January.
Sam Stosur, at No. 25, remains the highest-ranked Australian, while Casey Dellacqua's late-career resurgence will be rewarded with a debut grand slam seeding in New York. Still, the cupboard appears far better stocked for men's talent, with the current list still headed by Lleyton Hewitt (41st, at the age of 33), from boom teenager Nick Kyrgios (No.59, with a bullet), Tomic (67), Matosevic (77), Ebden (95) and Sam Groth (105).
Thanasi Kokkinakis (185) is the latest local entry into the ATP's top 200, and on Tuesday the 18-year-old from Adelaide recorded a three-set win over Croatian Nikola Mektic in the first round of US Open qualifying. James Duckworth and Arina Rodionova were the two other Australians to progress, among four losers, with sixth seed Olivia Rogowska, Ashleigh Barty, Anastasia Rodionova and Gavrilova still to play.
AUSTRALIAN IMPORTS AT THE US OPEN:
Ajla Tomljanovic (Croatian native, ranked 55th)
Jarmila Gajdosova (Slovakia, 102)
Arina Rodionova* (Russia, 217)
Anastasia Rodionova* (Russia, 219)
Daria Gavrilova* (Russia, 355)
(*contesting the qualifying event)
