By Shrivathsa Sridhar
MELBOURNE, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Anyone strolling past Melbourne Park’s outer courts might have felt like they were wandering through Istanbul on Wednesday as the roars behind Turkish trailblazer Zeynep Sonmez reached deafening levels at the Australian Open.
A popular draw among Turkish fans and now a crowd favourite in Melbourne after assisting an ill ball girl during her opener, Sonmez fed off the energy on court seven to beat Hungarian Anna Bondar 6-2 6-4 and progress.
“I felt like I was at home,” Sonmez told reporters after matching her best Grand Slam run of reaching the third round at Wimbledon last year.
“I was feeling the energy. It was unreal. I appreciate it. I felt very good on the court. I felt the support, and I felt like we were all playing together, actually.
“In Wimbledon when I was playing third round, it was similar to this, but today … I felt like I never experienced something like this.”
Sonmez is part of a growing group of players from nations without traditional tennis pathways who are lighting up the sport’s biggest stages.
Filipina Alexandra Eala was watched by heaving crowds outside practice courts in the build-up to the Grand Slam while Janice Tjen has won new fans by becoming the first Indonesian to win a match at the Australian Open in 28 years.
“I think it’s good … there are some countries that are very good at tennis. You know, they’re like tennis countries. We aren’t one of them,” Sonmez said.
“It’s a good thing, because there are more players and more surprises. I saw Alex playing few days ago. The crowd was crazy. I really enjoy watching those matches.”
Like the biggest players from the strongest nations, Sonmez also dreams of someday winning a Grand Slam.
“But I’m not focusing specifically on that dream,” she said.
“I’m just focusing on getting better every day. I want to enjoy being on the court, because I know that I feel and I play better when I enjoy being on the court.”
Having come through three qualifying rounds before stunning 11th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova and taking out Bondar, the 112th ranked Sonmez will look to keep her run going when she meets Kazakh Yulia Putintseva in the third round.
“Right now I’m tired, because I just finished,” she said. “But I’m not tired overall.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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