'Horrific': Ailing Tomljanovic slumps to career low as Duckworth sets up likely meeting with 'Rafa 2.0'
Ajla Tomljanovic can't wait to swap the red clay of France for the green grass of England after bowing out in the first round at Roland-Garros.
The 33-year-old Australian won the first set against American Caty McNally before falling to a 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 defeat.
The former world No.32 has dropped to 100th in the rankings and has been battling painful plantar fasciitis in her feet in recent weeks.
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Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia in action against Caty McNally of the United States. Getty
"I'm just looking forward to putting this horrific six weeks behind me," Tomljanovic told reporters in Paris.
"I think it's probably the worst stretch I've had in my career, which feels odd. I don't think I've ever really lost this many matches in a row, so that honestly feels a bit new at this stage of my career."
Tomljanovic will start her Wimbledon preparations at a tournament in Birmingham next year.
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Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia in action against Caty McNally of the United States. Getty
The news was better for the other Aussie in action on day one at the French Open.
James Duckworth breezed through to the second round with a 6-3, 4-1 walkover against Canada's Gabriel Diallo.
Diallo has been battling lower back issues and reportedly cut his finger on a glass bottle recently.
Duckworth is likely to meet 27th seed Rafael Jodar next.
Jodar, a 19-year-old from Spain, is the talk of the tennis world and earning comparisons to legendary compatriot and namesake Rafael Nadal.
Jodar is scheduled to start his campaign against Aleksandar Kovacevic of the United States on Monday night (AEST).
Rafael Jodar of Spain plays a forehand against Learner Tien of United States. Getty
"It'll be an interesting match, obviously, Jodar has been playing well these last few months," Duckworth told Stan Sport's Chris Stubbs.
"His ranking's shot up pretty quick but Kovacevic's been playing some good tennis, especially last week, and when he's on he's a very good player. Hopefully they can play for 10 hours tomorrow and hopefully they'll be a little bit tired."
Australia's leading hope - eighth seed Alex de Minaur - opens his campaign against England's Toby Samuel on Monday night (AEST).
Alex de Minaur talks to Stan Sport. Stan
"In the qualifying he had a great win over (David) Goffin, and I've been able to watch a little bit of that," de Minaur told Stan Sport.
"He hasn't been on tour for much, he's just come out of college. He's playing with a lot of confidence, I'm sure he's going to throw the kitchen sink and I'm excited for a battle. It should be a lot of fun and hopefully I can make it physical."
De Minaur snapped a run of poor form to reach the semi-finals in Hamburg last week.
"Had been a bleak month, to say the least," the 27-year-old admitted.
"Honestly, the only thing I was looking for was to try to get the monkey off my back, just try to get one win. When the draw came out (for Hamburg), it was a pretty brutal draw, but I ended up playing four top-20 players, and played four really good matches.
"Exactly what I was looking for, got my mojo back, and now feeling great, ready to go here."
De Minaur's best finish at Roland-Garros was the 2024 quarter-finals.
