Jodie Burrage will have cried rivers during six torturous months of rehabilitation, but here at last there were some happy tears in the happy Slam, with her first victory at the Australian Open.
She beat French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean 6-2, 6-4 and will face powerhouse Coco Gauff in the next round on Wednesday.
With £34,000 and, more importantly, 60 precious ranking points on offer against a very beatable opponent, this was a big opportunity for Burrage and she knew it. In fact, the 25-year-old said his friends and family were guilty of taking him for granted.
“I had to send some messages to my uncle saying, 'I still have to win the game!'” said Burrage, who lives in the south of France with her rugby star boyfriend Ben White, the scrum-half for Top14 team Toulon.
'I knew today was a good opportunity. While I was playing in the ITF (lower level) and everything I was doing, the only thing I was saying is that I want to get to Australia, I know I will be good in Australia.
“I really didn't want to waste the opportunity today.
'I think all those emotions from the last nine months, yeah, they were bottled up there and in the end… it was always going to come out at some point. Very, very happy. “One of the best victories of my career.”
Jodie Burrage (above) earned her first victory at the Australian Open, beating Leolia Jeanjean.
The British number 7 has booked her place in the second round and will face the powerful Coco Gauff
The victorious Burrage could not hide her emotion, which prevailed after six tortuous months of rehabilitation.
Last February, Burrage ruptured a tendon in his right wrist and, after completing his rehabilitation well ahead of schedule, tore a ligament in his ankle while training with Katie Boulter.
He was out for six months in total and most unpleasant of all was that the initial injury occurred just after he had reached a career-high 86th place finish.
During the darkest moments of rehab, Burrage considered quitting the sport, but she is driven by a desire to prove she can consistently be a top 100 player. With this victory he should go from 173rd place to around 150th in the world.
Those difficult times have given him great perspective, which can be a potent force in professional sports. Despite the nerves – “I can't eat this, this isn't going down,” she told fellow Brit Olivia Nicholls over breakfast – Burrage swayed with the freedom of someone who is happy to be here.
“It was definitely one of the best wins of my career,” he said. 'It's also just the beginning. I have more faith and confidence in myself and that showed today. “I feel like it's the start of a good year for me.”
Third seed Gauff looms, their second meeting after the American beat Burrage 6-1, 6-1 in Eastbourne in 2023.
“To be honest, I know what I want to do,” Burrage said. 'I learned a lot from my last game. It's just about execution. But I just want to go out and enjoy it and push her.”
After six months of rehabilitation and four months of effort in lower-level events, one gets the feeling that Burrage is enjoying every moment in the promised land of Grand Slam tennis.
Burrage, 25, beat France's Leolia Jeanjean (above) 6-2, 6-4 in Melbourne.
British No. 4 Harriet Dart battled through injury and cramp to book her place in the second round.
Meanwhile, British No. 4 Harriet Dart battled injuries and cramps to book her place in the second round of the Australian Open in grueling fashion.
Dart lost in the final qualifying round but was given a lucky loser spot on Monday morning after former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova withdrew.
She was pushed almost straight into a clash with Croatian qualifier Jana Fett and, after three hours and 14 minutes, limped her way to a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (10/7) victory.
Dart had her left calf taped at the start of the second set and fought back tears during the deciding tiebreak, where she also began to suffer cramps.
But he managed to cross the line for just his second main draw victory at Melbourne Park and his first in five years.
Dart came back from 3-5 down to win the first set in a match that featured 19 breaks of serve and in which each woman won 118 points.
But his physical problems became evident when he called the trainer for prolonged treatment on his calf and neck, losing 2-3 in the second set.
Fett seemed in control at the time, but Dart continued to fight and broke serve twice to stay in the match, the second time saving two match points, one of them with an ill-timed double fault from the Croatian.
Despite clearly struggling, Dart limped to victory, narrowly winning 7-5 2-6 7-6 (10/7)
Dart came back from 3-5 down to win the first set against Croatian qualifier Jana Fett (above)
Dart opened up a 7-1 lead in the tie-break and, although things became increasingly complicated, he refused to let it slip despite his obvious physical discomfort.
She will now try to recover in time for a second-round clash with 18th seed Donna Vekic on Wednesday.