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Teenager Destanee Aiava goes down fighting against Mona Barthel

  • Barthel defeats Aiava 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) in Melbourne

  • 16-year-old pockets $50,000 for first-round Australian Open defeat

Destanee Aiava
Australian Destanee Aiava lost her first-round singles clash against Mona Barthel of Germany, but impressed with her power and composure. Photograph: Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Teenage prodigy Destanee Aiava was knocked out of the Australian Open before most local fans found a seat on Monday, but a spirited first appearance in her home grand slam delivered a $50,000 windfall for 92 minutes’ labour – not bad work if you can get it for a school holiday job.

The 16-year-old Melburnian was beaten but far from outclassed, losing 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) to Mona Barthel, now the world No181, but previously as high as 23 in the world rankings and certainly no slouch. Ten years Aiava’s senior, the German entered this clash with five Australian Open campaigns behind her, a couple of tour titles to her name and scalps such as last year’s champion Angelique Kerber.

The contrast could not have been more pronounced: veteran nous v the sprit of youth; height v grunt; cautious defence v unselfconscious attack. Both of Barthel’s parents are doctors and her father once won a European shotputting title, so poor Mona, you suspect, has a decent amount of high-achieving to live up to.

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Aiava’s pedigree is arguably more suited to the brutally physical world of modern professional sport – her father is Australia’s mixed martial arts coach and her mother a former representative rugby union player and footballer. At times in this match, as she swivelled into another sizzling forehand winner, you could just as easily imagine Aiava side-stepping hapless tacklers, breaking the line and sailing past the net for a try.

All of this is moot. Barthel proved adept at reaching and returning most of what the teenager belted at her, which was plenty, and that, coupled with a sturdy if unimposing service game, was enough for her to prevail. Hints at frailty on the latter front surfaced only as bookends to the match. Barthel offered the Australian two break points early in the first set – an opening Aiava missed by attacking quite admirably – and then finally lost her serve while looking to close out the match at 5-4 in the second.

Mona Barthel of Germany and Australian Destanee Aiava
Destanee Aiava, right, gave Mona Barthel a solid workout in their first-round match. Photograph: Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Experience told in the tiebreaker, in which Barthel raced to a 3-0 lead before easing her way to victory.

A telling statistic here was that Aiava’s first serve came down at only 55% (Barthel managed 66%), but she won 74% of her points on it; had she upped the first number significantly she might have caused her opponent all sorts of trouble. Ditto the Australian’s inability to nail more than one of four break points offered up. The teenager produced six more winners than her opponent, but 14 more unforced errors, and that balance of trade was telling.

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Yet in all senses bar the scoreline it was an assured debut from Aiava, who achieved the distinction of becoming the first player born in the 21st century to feature in a grand slam singles match. Early on it had seemed likely she would make mincemeat of Barthel’s gentle second serve, and a pair of blistering passing shots in the German’s second service game lifted a polite capacity crowd.

A deft drop shot or two also showed the finesse and skill that will develop with more grand slam experience, but the raw ingredients here are compelling. At the peak of her physical development she will be a ball-striker to fear.

Other than that obvious power and strength, Aiava’s most impressive trait so far is her composure when things aren’t going to plan, which is relatively often when you’re no longer hammering the ball past kids but dealing with hardened tour professionals such as Barthel. Nothing troubled her notably until her post-game press conference, in which she mumbled just as any put-upon teenager should.

If the past fortnight is anything to go by, the Australian is also pleasingly unencumbered by your typical “tennis parents”. Her mother Rosie was a picture of equanimity sitting courtside with Daria Gavrilova on Monday and said earlier in the week that this catchy new name in Australian tennis was the result of an inescapable feeling her daughter was simply meant to be. On current evidence her instincts appear prescient.