Ajla Tomljanovic has hauled herself from the brink of Australian Open elimination to mark her return to her home slam with an extraordinary first-round comeback win over Petra Martic.
A year after she was ruled out of the 2023 Open in tears with a knee injury that ruined most of last year, Tomljanovic came back from a 4-1 deficit in the decisive third set to prevail 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-4.
In outlasting Martic in the two-hour, 53-minute slogfest, Tomljanovic teed up a tantalising second-round clash with 11th seed Jelena Ostapenko.
"I really was out at one point," Tomljanovic said at a sparsely packed John Cain Arena after midnight.
"I mean, I felt like she was kind of toying with me and I couldn't read her serve.
"But 4-1 down, double break, you guys (the crowd) never gave up even more than me.
"I was like 'if you're here, I should give it my best' ... I'm really grateful that you all stayed this late."
The 30-year-old had heavy strapping on her left thigh but it didn't seem to affect her mobility.
In a rollercoaster first set, Tomljanovic spurned two set points on serve at 5-4, then was broken.
The Australian broke Martic after a game that stretched beyond 20 minutes but was broken back when she served for the set a second time.
Tomljanovic raced away to victory in the tiebreak, ending a 73-minute first set.
But Martic responded in style, bursting away to a 3-0 lead in the second set, then closing it out.
The Croatian big-hitter appeared on track to knock out the local hope until Tomljanovic turned the tide.
"She really keeps you on your toes. I felt like I never really got settled to play my game because she hits amazing shots," Tomljanovic said.
"Then I can't read her serve all the time so I felt like I really had to hang in there because I knew it could turn on a dime.
"Look, there was a bit of luck tonight and I'll take it."
Tomljanovic will now prepare for Ostapenko, who she had a fiery on-court dispute with at Wimbledon in 2021.
