Olivia Gadecki is greeted by a text message from her mentor Ash Barty, after the Australian wildcard wins her opening match at Melbourne Park in her grand-slam tournament singles debut.
But Gadecki's breakthrough victory will no doubt inspire the Australian contingent and she is not ready for her Melbourne Park campaign to end in the second round when she meets Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk."It's just an amazing achievement, but I definitely believe that I can do more, and I'm really looking forward to my next round."
Gadecki was not in contention to play last year's Australian Open due to her COVID-19 vaccination status. She did not want to explain her stance in any great detail when questioned at her media conference on Monday, but admitted to a feeling of "relief" now the Australian Open's vaccination requirements have been relaxed.
"I knew what my decision entailed and I totally respect everyone's opinion and personal choice," Gadecki said.Gadecki's gratitude extended to the crowd support she received in her first-round win, describing the response from spectators as "amazing"."Today I just wanted to kind of let them in and really embrace the crowd. It's such a once-in-a-lifetime sort of moment.
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