Australian wildcard Jason Kubler has continued his stunning return from the tennis wilderness with a watershed first-round US Open win over Spanish star Roberta Bautista-Agut.
In a memorable main-draw debut for the former teenage prodigy, Kubler defied searing heat to sweep past the 19th seed 6-3 6-3 6-4 in two hours and seven minutes.
Ranked 945th in the world this time last year, Kubler’s career appeared over after six knee surgeries and medical advice to only ever play on clay courts.
But after cracking the top 100 for the first time last month, the Queenslander is now also savouring his maiden victory at a major.
Kubler missed eight years of grand slam action before being granted an Australian Open wildcard in January and then successfully qualifying at Wimbledon.
The 25-year-old’s reward for his latest milestone moment is a second-round clash on Wednesday with either German Mischa Zverev or American Taylor Fritz.