Aussies bow out in French Open qualifying
Jason Kubler, Kimberley Birrell and Arina Rodionova have been eliminated in French Open qualifying, ending the Australian hunt for main draw spots at Roland Garros.
Former world junior No.1 Kubler lost his second-round qualifier 6-1 7-6 (11-9) to Serb Viktor Troicki on Wednesday in an hour and 28 minutes.
World No.256 Troicki overpowered the Queenslander, who is battling back from injuries, blasting eight aces and 31 winners to set up a clash with Canadian Alexandre Muller.
In the opening-round women's qualifiers, Birrell and Rodionova both stumbled at the first hurdle on the red clay.
World No.158 Birrell made a sluggish start but forced a third set before falling 6-2 3-6 6-4 to Greece's Valentini Grammatikopoulou, ranked 35 spots below the Australian.
Compatriot Arina Rodionova struggled throughout, dropping serve six times in a 7-5 6-1 loss to Switzerland's Conny Perrin.
Their exits mean Ashleigh Barty, Daria Gavrilova, Ajla Tomljanovic, former finalist Samantha Stosur and the in-form Astra Sharma will be tasked with flying the flag in the women's draw.
Alex de Minaur will be Australia's top seed on the men's side, joining Nick Kyrgios, John Millman, Matt Ebden, Jordan Thompson, Bernard Tomic and wildcard recipient Alexei Popyrin.
