Jesper de Jong (ATP #135) has easily qualified for the second round of the Australian Open qualifying tournament. The 23-year-old tennis player from Hoofddorp finished with the Italian Raul Brancaccio in 57 minutes: 6-1, 6-2.
De Jong, who won the Dutch title last month at the expense of fellow provincial Gijs Brouwer, has never managed to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. In the next round, De Jong will face Brazilian Felipe Alves, number 129 in the world.
Gijs Brouwer is the other Dutch contribution to the qualifications in Melbourne. Brouwer (ATP #114), from Venhuizen, will play his first match in the qualifying tournament tomorrow. The opponent is the Slovakian Alex Molčan.
The main draw of the Australian Open starts on Monday, January 15 and lasts until Sunday, January 28.