Add Category
Departing the Australian Open singles draw in the third round was not the result Storm Hunter was chasing, but she is finding positives in producing a career-best performance.
Key points:
- Hunter lost 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 to ninth seed Barbora Krejčíková
- It was the first time Hunter had made the third round in singles at a major
- She still has the women's and mixed doubles on her schedule in Melbourne
Hunter fell in three tight sets to ninth seed and former French Open champion Barbora Krejčíková on Rod Laver Arena in the early hours of Saturday, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
It was the first time the Australian had reached the last 32 of a singles draw at a major, while the doubles specialist had never previously advanced from the first round at her home slam.
Hunter was satisfied with her showing, which will see her enjoy a significant rise in the singles rankings from her current standing of 180.
"It was a tough match, I really wanted to win that one and I would say I had a few chances, but Barbora played some really good tennis under pressure," Hunter said.
"She hit some cut-serves when I had some break-point opportunities.
"I absolutely loved it out there. It was a lot of fun. Even though I didn't get the win, this whole week has been a win for my singles, I would say.
"I don't want to look at it as disappointing today because I enjoyed every minute. It's not every night you get to play on Rod Laver Arena after Novak [Djokovic] and have all the fans out there.
"I'm definitely seeing it as a positive. Obviously, I've played six really high-quality singles matches here. Any other tournament, that would be probably [have been] a win of a tournament.
"Yeah, [feeling] super positive."
Hunter growing in confidence
Hunter is ranked number one in the world in doubles, which has been the 29-year-old's focus for much of her career.
Doubles will remain the priority for the time being, but Hunter's singles run in Melbourne has boosted her self-belief that she can compete on the main stage.
"I think I can replicate it (her singles form), but it was a high level," Hunter said.
"I knew that that's not probably my base level. That's definitely up there. At some point if I could maintain that — that was a two-and-a-half-hour match — it would unbelievable.
"I think I maintained for about two hours, which is still pretty good.
"But to compete obviously with the best players and to beat the best players, you need to be able to do that for a lot longer.
"It gives me confidence that if I can keep building on that and the belief now is there that I can do that and I have the game and the aggressiveness to actually hurt players.
"It's just being able to do that consistently."
Hunter was the last Australian standing in the women's singles draw.
She will now turn her attention to the women's and mixed doubles where she will play alongside Czech Kateřina Siniaková and fellow Australian Matt Ebden respectively.
Hunter and Siniaková are the third seeds, while she and Ebden are the top-seeded pairing in the mixed doubles.