Staying calm: Preston beats nerves to mark up first grand slam triumph

Taylah Preston has stormed into the Australian Open second round, with the 20-year-old admitting her first-ever grand slam triumph came from working on just one thing before the tournament: Controlling her nerves.

The 20-year-old’s upset over China’s Zhang Shuai, a former quarter-finalist, never really felt in doubt in set three, though there was a major hiccup through the second stanza. Preston had marched to a 6-3 lead, one set up, before giving away an eight-game loss. Thankfully, she collected six of her nine break-point opportunities to clinch the victory.

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And, it all came down to controlling her nerves, Preston explained to the media. It helped her to keep steady throughout the 93-minute duel, where she registered 26 winners, including 15 from her forehand. And, of course, it was crucially important after she slipped to a loss in the second set and had to re-establish herself to close out the match.

So, too, right at the end of the first round tie, when she realised she would win.

“Sometimes I’m calm, sometimes I’m not,” she said after the victory.

“Hopefully I am more calm than I am not, but I think, especially at the end of the third [set] there, I was starting to get a bit nervous. I just try to not think about it, think about playing the point. Maybe I did it okay.”

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Preston has been in red-hot form coming into the Aus Open, already beating world No.29 Emma Raducanu at the Hobart Open. Though Preston eventually fell to third seed Iva Jović in the semifinal, that event netted her some 98 points and moved her within the top 100 on the WTA Tour. That will, of course, be added to however she finishes in Melbourne, too.

Next, there – Peston will play 13th seed Linda Nosková on Wednesday. The young Czech star, 21, made short work of Darja Semenistaja in a 15-game, two-set victory on day two of the tournament. Preston’s an outside $3.10 chance.

Should she produce another Melbourne win, Preston would then face Xin Wang or Jeļena Ostapenko.