After an early exit from the Australian Open main draw, Australian teen Emerson Jones has powered through to the junior girls’ semifinals.
Jones, 16, is the world number one junior, and the rising star has been compared to former Australian tennis greats, including Ash Barty.
“She certainly won’t be the next me, she’ll be the first Emerson,” Barty said ahead of Jones’s quarterfinal.
Jones was given a wildcard into the main draw, but suffered a comprehensive 6-1, 6-1 defeat at the hands of sixth seed Elena Rybakina.
“It was a tough initiation for her on the tour in the last few weeks, all experiences that she’ll be able to learn from,” Barty said.
Speaking at a women in sport event, Barty said she faced similarly bracing times on the court early in her career.
“I remember my first experiences, similar ones, they weren’t the most glorious on the tennis court, but they were really important lessons that I was able to learn from and held me in really good stead moving forward.”
Ash Barty has praised the professionalism and determination of young Emerson Jones. (Getty Images: Cameron Spencer)
That was something Jones seemed to acknowledge in her post-match interview.
“I think it was a great experience for me. I haven’t played on that court before, and I haven’t played that high of a ranked player before, so I think it was pretty exciting,” she said after her loss to Rybakina.
“Emmo is brilliant, she’s such a lovely young girl and she’s very much at the start of her career,” Barty said.
“Probably one of the best young players we’ve seen in quite an extended period.”
“What you also see from Emmo is a professionalism already, the drive and determination to see what’s possible, to see see how far she can go in her career.”
Seeking maiden grand slam
The junior world number one doesn’t yet have a grand slam title to her name.
She has come achingly close, reaching the finals of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon last year.
This year she’s vying to go one better and win the junior Australian Open trophy.
And her determined win over fellow 16-year-old Austrian Lilli Tagger has landed her one step closer.
Jones has been praised for her gutsy tennis, and it was on full display in her come-from-behind win 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
The pair were neck and neck at the start of the match, until Tagger broke Jones’s serve and held to clinch the set.
Jones came back firing, winning her serve in convincing fashion and racing to a 3-0 lead.
She took the second set 6-2 and forced a deciding third set.
Again she came out strong, dictating points and securing a 4-1 lead.
Her courageous groundstrokes and impressive focus saw her wrest away control of the points on Tagger’s serve to close out the match.
