Ajla Tomljanovic laments lack of consistency at Grand Slams after tiebreak loss
Luckless Ajla Tomljanovic has created her own small but unwanted piece of tennis history as the first Australian to bow out of a grand slam tournament in a super-tiebreaker.
The world No.47 dropped serve only once in her opening-round Australian Open clash against Britain's Johanna Konta but still found herself on the wrong end of a 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-6 (10-7) scoreline in a marathon lasting two hours and 51 minutes.
This year marks the first time that the Australian Open has opted for first-to-10 points tiebreakers to decide matches, rather than the traditional advantage system.
It means all four majors now use different formats to decide close encounters.
The Australian youngster pleaded for consistency across Grand Slams. AAP
"I don't mind breakers in general; I just wish there was more consistency with the slams," said the 25-year-old Tomljanovic.
"I feel like everyone just wants to be different.
"But I didn't lose today because of that."
Instead, Tomljanovic was left to run a lack of aggression at crucial moments in the third set against the Australian-born Konta, who embarked on a thrilling run to the semis at Melbourne Park three years ago.
"I hate losing in general but here it's even worse," said Tomljanovic.
Tomljanovic and Konta were full of appreciation for each other following the enthralling contest. AAP
"I had a tough first round, she's a great player and she played a high level throughout the whole match.
"In the third set I was always the one up on serve and I didn't get any looks at all on her serve.
"I thought I just hung in there and in the important moments I maybe wasn't aggressive enough.
"I guess she took control more or wanted it more."
Konta's second-round opponent will be Spanish No.18 seed Garbine Muguruza, who ousted Zheng Saisai from China 6-2 6-3.
