Gadecki leads big Aussie charge at Wimbledon qualifying

Olivia Gadecki carded one the standout results of the day as seven Australian women marched into round two of the Wimbledon qualifying event.

The 22-year-old Gold Coast player rocked sixth seed and world No.100 Maria Timofeeva 6-1 6-3 in the opening round at Roehampton on Tuesday as the Aussie contingent matched the most to reach this stage of qualifying for the prestigious grand slam event in 30 years.

In the second round Gadecki faces Harmony Tan, the French player who scored an upset win over American legend Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2022.

It was world No.177 Gadecki's third career victory over a player ranked in the world's top 100.

"I've been working really hard this year, so getting those top-100 wins always adds to the confidence,'' Gadecki said.

"I'm really happy with today and can't wait to keep going."

Among the other Aussies making the next stage was Kimberly Birrell, who saw off Dutchwoman Arianne Hartono 6-1 7-6 (8-6) for her 12th grass-court win from 15 matches in the past month.

And seventh-seeded 34-year-old Arina Rodionova battled through 6-4 4-6 6-4 against British wildcard Amelia Rajecki.

There was also an impressive win for 18-year-old debutant Maya Joint, who took out Romanian Andreea Mitu 6-2 6-3, an opponent 14 years her senior.

"I'm super excited," said Joint, who next takes on 20th-seeded American McCartney Kessler.

"It's my first Wimbledon, so it's really great to get a win. I wasn't really expecting anything."

Destanee Aiava racked up her first victory at Wimbledon in seven years as the 24-year-old from Melbourne came through against Ukrainian Anastasiya Soboleva 6-3 6-3.

Meanwhile, Perth's Talia Gibson scored the biggest win of her career as she triumphed 6-3 6-1 against Croatian Jana Fett for her first victory against a top-120 player.

The result set up a clash with fellow Aussie Aiava.

"It's great we've both through to the second round," Gibson said.

"I've played Destanee a couple of times before. She's got a really great game and it's going to be especially hard on grass, but I'm looking forward to it."

Maddison Inglis is also through to the second round after her Czech opponent, Sara Bejlek, was forced to retire.

Three Australian men will be back in action on the Roehampton turf on Wednesday, when Li Tu,  Alex Bolt and fourth-seeded James Duckworth play their second-round matches.