Australian 16-year-old Emerson Jones has had her first brutal trial by fire in the top tour and in grand slam tennis, with sixth seed Elena Rybakina overpowering the rank one junior star in a 6-1 6-1 match in just 53 minutes.
Jones, who is top-ranked in the junior WTA circuit, would have learned some tough lessons.
All across Margaret Court Arena Rybakina was in top form: She ran Jones around the contest in their rallies with powerful long shots that left the 16-year-old young gun struggling to keep up and sizzled as many as 11 aces past the youngster.
By comparison, Jones didn’t land any aces in her Australian Open debut and — clearly and unsurprisingly battling some nerves on the biggest stage she’s played yet — double-faulted six times.
So too the clinchers; the ever-graceful Kazakhstani world number six clocked up 26 winners through the quick 53 minutes and 12 sets she won. Jones scored six in her gutsy performance and even claimed two games from the former Wimbledon champion, but even with the crowd behind her the 16-year-old was just a little behind the bell curve this time.
Jones will be back before long though, especially considering how electric she’s been on the junior tour in recent years. Right now she reigns as a junior finalist in Australian and at Wimbledon.
“It’s a massive opportunity, but let’s not forget she’s 16, it’s a tough draw, she plays the sixth seed, Elena Rybakina, but it’s just about getting experience at this point,” Jelena Dokic, herself a former world No.4, told Wide World of Sports before the match began.
“She’s going to get out there and compete, that’s who she is, and wants to compete hard and still believe she can win, which is exactly what you want to do, but this is a process.
“It’s about improving your game, not always about those wins, she needs to get the experience as well.”
