The end for 18-year-old Taylah Preston when it came, arrived quickly, the veteran Caroline Garcia rattling off the last three games with an authority she been wholly unable to summon for the bulk of a quite captivating match.
Do not be fooled by the score – 6-4 1-6 6-3 to Garcia – this was as close to a colossal upset as they come. Australia has a genuine new up and comer, fearless, aggressive, hard hitting and with a never-say-die outlook that drew hundreds of fans to Show Court 1 as word spread of the Aussie’s deeds.
As the match began the stands were half full at best but after Preston had dismantled, if not demolished, the former world No.4 in the second set, every seat and standing nook and cranny in the sizeable area that runs alongside the clubhouse was packed, hearts thumping everywhere.
“I looked around at one of the changeovers and It’s like ‘Whoa that’s a lot of people here’,” said Preston.
Intriguingly there was nothing nationalistic or partisan behind the support, cries of ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie’ just didn’t happen with the spectators rushing to encourage and admire a teenager that probably few of them had heard of merely an hour before.
For the record, Preston is ranked world No.203, up from No.836 eight months ago, an extraordinary story in itself. This Adelaide International is her highest-level tournament and she was granted a wildcard by tournament director Alicia Molik who had recruited her as the Orange Girl for her Billie Jean King Cup team.
Pre-match Molik praised her as hungry, urgent and professional. It was, if anything, a serious understatement.
Preston looked the part from the outset, the first two games went to Garcia as the West Australian got to grips with the pace and intensity Garcia brings (the French player is arguably underestimated too, despite winning the season-ending WTA Finals in 2022).
In a flash, Preston was 3-2 up and while she lost the set, she fought back from 0-40 in two games that set, winning one and losing one of them. It is the sign of a fighter and she did so without histrionics or berating herself or causing any sort of stir.
Preston briefly led 3-1 in the final set but as it so often can be, the seventh game of the final set paved the way to victory, on this occasion for Garcia who kept her composure, holding the middle of the court firmly as the players slugged it out, this a match played primarily from both baselines.
“It was a lot of fun, it was stressful going from 3-1, she started feeling it better again and the whole thing was so much fun, the biggest crowd I have ever played in front of. It was just really cool,” said Preston.
“I was trying to focus on every point as it was rather than worrying about the score. Sometimes I can lose myself in what the score is and then I start panicking so today tried my best to focus on every point and from that first 0/40 I was like, ‘I do what I want to do’.”
As the players met at the net after the last point, Garcia posted a huge smile of relief and, it seemed, admiration. She knew she’d been in a battle and will be unlikely to want to meet Preston too soon again.
“She just said to keep going and coming for someone who’s top 20 that’s obviously nice of her to say,” said Preston. “We were talking before in the locker rooms, I played her two years ago at doubles in the AO, so she brought that up and she said ‘Oh did you play doubles in AO?”
Preston now heads to the Australian Open as a wildcard, where she’ll potentially have another opportunity to compete against some of the game’s biggest names.
“I have definitely thought about whether I draw (Aryna) Sabalenka or (Elena) Rybakina or (Iga) Swiatek,” she said. “That would be overwhelming but at the same time, super exciting to play one of them. I’m not really too fussed who I draw, I will be super excited anyway.”