'Lost for words': Priscilla Hon's incredible escape matches 30-year Australia Wimbledon record
Updated . First published at
Australia will have a record-equalling contingent at Wimbledon with 17 players set to compete in the main draw.
It's the most players Australia has had at the All England Club in 30 years, following a hugely successful qualifying phase.
There'll be seven women and 10 men in action, matching the 17 Aussies at the grass-court tournament in 1995.
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Priscilla Hon celebrates her big win. Stan
One of those women will be Priscilla Hon, who qualified for Wimbledon for the first time in seven attempts.
Hon, 27, had made the final qualifying round three times but came up short each time.
It seemed like it was going to go the same way for the No.118 in her match against Canadian Victoria Mboko, when she was down a set and her opponent held three match points in the second frame while leading 6-5.
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But Hon fought her way back, and saved five match points in all, to take the clash 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-1.
"Honestly, right now I'm pretty lost for words, especially when I didn't think I was going to win the match," Hon said.
"I definitely feel like I've gotten better in these situations and obviously played quite a few now and I've got the experience.
"Apparently, I was down five match points, but I only remember three of them. I was just trying to think point-by-point and somehow, I got the win," she added.
" I served really well in that game (at 6-5) to come back, and that's what got me through."
Hon was one of four Australian victories on the final day of qualifying in Roehampton, with Talia Gibson, James McCabe and Alex Bolt also advancing.
Gibson, 21, also had to fight to qualify when she found herself 3-5, 30-40 down in the final set against Argentine 10th qualifying seed Solana Sierra.
Like Hon, Gibson found a way to save the match point and somehow won the next four games to take it 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.
Unfortunately, 16-year-old Emerson Jones won't join her fellow Aussies after she missed out in her bid to become the youngest Australian player since Ash Barty to make the singles main draw at Wimbledon.
Priscilla Hon will be part of a record contingent of Aussies at Wimbledon. Getty
Jones, the world's No.1 junior, was beaten by Frenchwoman Diane Parry 6-2, 6-2.
Maya Joint also secured her place in the first round after reaching the semi-finals of Eastbourne.
The 19-year-old scored a tough 6-4 7-5 quarter-final victory over experienced Russian Anna Blinkova, reaching her third semi-final of her rookie season, all on different surfaces.
She's the first Australian to get this far at Eastbourne since Sam Stosur in 2011.
She'll face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the last four.
