Sunshine Coast’s Dane Sweeny has made his first grand slam appearance, after earning a berth in the Australian Open.
On Sunday Dane Sweeny won plenty of admirers by pushing No.22 seed Francisco Cerundolo to five tough sets in a memorable but ultimately losing grand slam debut.
Showing plenty of the never-say-die traits of his doppelganger Lleyton Hewitt, the world No.257 traded blows for the best part of three-and-a-half hours before bowing out 3-6 6-3 6-4 2-6-6-2.
Cerundolo dominated the winner’s count 57-20 but the 22-year-old Sweeny’s counter-punching qualities kept him in the contest throughout.
Sweeny won three straight matches during the qualifying tournament to snare a spot in the main draw at Melbourne Park.
He clinched it with a 5-7 7-5 2-0 victory over Belgian Zizou Bergs, who retired in the deciding set after suffering cramping on Friday.
He was elated to secure a spot in the Australian Open in his fourth attempt.
“It feels a bit surreal,” he told Australian Open TV.
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“To do it is amazing but to do it like that (via an opponent retiring), I wasn’t expecting that at all.
“I’m just soaking it all in now and I cant wait for main draw.”
Sweeny sympathised with world No.112 Bergs, after the 24-year-old started cramping in the heat, while up a set and a break.
“These are the tournaments we all dream of playing in, so to end the match like that, I feel sorry for Zizou,” he said.
“I guess I’m just extremely lucky for it to happen.
“It was extremely brutal … very hot.”
Sweeny was granted a wildcard entry into the qualifying tournament after showing promise on the international circuit.
He showed plenty of composure and tenacity to get through his three matches, including a gutsy fightback against Bergs.
“Even when I wasn’t playing at my best, I really tried to stay calm and trust my B game and that’s what I brought to the second set. I was so tight to close that second set out,” he said.
“He was really battling physically, but it was really good and resilient from me.”
A heartwarming embrace at the net between competitors 🫂
Dane Sweeny will make his main draw debut at #AO2024 after Zizou Bergs retires.
See you next week, Dane 👋 pic.twitter.com/dkBp66HTWA
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 12, 2024
Sweeny had plenty of support from friends and family at qualifying and many Sunshine Coasters will cheer him on at the Open and from home.
“My sister is definitely the most vocal,” he said. “She’s super loud.”
“It’s good to have them (family and friends) here and to qualify in front of them is amazing.”
Sweeny, born in Sydney, has lived on the Sunshine Coast for most of his life and went to school at Siena Catholic College.
He trains out of the KT Academy, Mooloolaba Tennis Club and is coached by his father Clay.
Sweeny started to make inroads on the tennis scene in 2021. He just missed out on qualifying for the Australian Open but played around the world to break into the top-500.
He continued that trend in 2022, with a title in a second tier tournament, and broke into the top-250.
Last year, he qualified for the lucrative Shanghai Masters and defeated top-100 player Daniel Taro in the first round and his talent was rewarded with a wildcard entry invitation into Australian Open qualifying this year, which he made the most of.
Sweeny has developed somewhat of a cult following, largely because of his resemblance to Australian two-time slam champion and former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt.
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