Teenage prospect Maya Joint has stamped herself as a rising star of Australian tennis after winning through to the second round of the US Open on her main-draw debut at a grand slam.
The 18-year-old qualifier saw off experienced German Laura Siegemund 6-4 7-5 on the first day of the tournament proper — but she faces forgoing nearly $200,000 in prize money, and more with any further wins, after committing to attend the University of Texas in the coming weeks.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Maya Joint wins through to second round at US Open.
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US college rules set by the governing NCAA limit the amateur athletes who compete in professional tournaments to expenses rather than prize money.
Joint signed a letter of intent and a scholarship deal with the University of Texas almost a year ago, and if she follows through on enrolling she will not see the full cheque from her US Open exploits.
Her results on the professional tour — she is already on the cusp of joining the top 100 in the WTA rankings — are mounting a strong case for skipping college but all signs are currently pointing to attending.
Joint plans to study psychology and criminology.
She is being supported in New York by University of Texas head coach Howard Joffe with the school’s social media also celebrating her win over Siegemund.
The Aussie took the first break of the match to lead 3-1 but couldn’t consolidate, eventually taking the set on her very next break-point opportunity.
Joint raced out to a 5-0 lead in the second set but collapsed to 5-5 — even missing a match point on Siegemund’s serve in that 10th game — before sealing victory with another break.
“It’s incredible. I didn’t expect to come this far, I’m lost for words,” Joint said.
“I don’t know what to say, it feels great.
“She definitely made me work for it.”
The teenager will face American Madison Keys, a 14th seed who finished runner-up at the 2017 US Open, in the next round.
Joint was born and raised in the US before last year switching allegiances to Australia, where her father was born, and relocating to Brisbane.
She has starred at several ITF tournaments this year, winning two titles and making a further two finals.
Meanwhile, Australia’s No.2 men’s player Alexei Popyrin has survived his first test as a seeded player at a grand slam.
Popyrin cruised past Sonwoon Kwon without even hitting top gear, the recently crowned Montreal Masters champion eventually progressing with a 7-5 6-2 6-3 win in a tick over two hours.
Popyrin next faces either unseeded Spaniard Pedro Martinez or Polish qualifier Maks Kasnikowski — and he could meet Novak Djokovic in the third round.
“I feel like I’ve had a lot of scenarios in my career where I had one more match, and then I would play a big match so I’ve kind of gotten used to focusing on the match that I’ve got in hand,” Popyrin said.
“And then if I win that, then, yeah, obviously I’ve got Novak in the third.
“But, honestly, I’m just thinking of this match and not thinking about Novak.”
Two years after ending Serena Williams’ storied career on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Ajla Tomljanovic drew on the fond memories to also advance with a 6-4 6-4 win over American qualifier Ann Li.
But Kim Birrell bowed out with a 6-4 6-4 loss to Paris Olympics silver medallist Donna Vekic.
Despite the defeat, Birrell will depart with a cheque for $US100,000 ($A147,575) — the biggest prize in tennis history for a first-round loser at a major.
– with AAP