ARINA Rodionova and John-Patrick Smith have booked their ticket to the Australian Open with wins in their respective Wildcard Playoff draws at Melbourne Park over the past week. The wins meant the pair does not need to go through qualifying, sparing them at least three matches in what is predicted to be scorching Melbourne heat.

Rodionova earned her Wildcard spot in the Australian Open after triumphing in the final over Storm Sanders, 6-4 7-5. The number four seed entered the tournament as one of the favourites to take it out, only dropping the one set – to seventh seed Belinda Woolcock – on her way to victory. Once ranked as high as 116th in the WTA Tour Rankings from October 23, 2017, Rodionova is currently ranked 203rd. Rodionova spent most of the year playing 125K or ITF events, earning a spot in Wimbledon’s main draw after making it through qualifying but dropping her first round match to American, Taylor Townsend. Having lost in the opening round of qualifying at her home Grand Slam, the Russian-born 30-year-old will be keen to make an impact in the main draw after a strong performance across the Wildcard Playoff.

Sixth seed, Smith was a similar story, only dropping one set on his way to the Wildcard Playoff win against third seed, Max Purcell. Smith won 6-3 6-4 6-1 in the final, having also only dropped six games for the entire match against eighth seed Maverick Banes in the semi-finals. Smith is currently ranked 308th in the world, with his career high topping at 108th in September, 2015. The 30-year-old did not play an official ATP Tour match in 2019, having won five from a total of 24 over the years. His best result came in the first round of qualifying, when he was drawn against Frenchman, Nicolas Mahut and knocked off the big server, 6-3 6-4. While he did not play a main draw Grand Slam match last season, Smith now is guaranteed at least one, with his spot assured at Melbourne Park.

The first round of the Australian Open starts on January 20.