OXENHOPE youngster Francesca Jones has finally learned who she will be playing in the first round of the Australian Open next week.
The tournament gets underway in Melbourne from Monday, but with uncertainty surrounding the tournament due to competitors having to quarantine upon arrival in the country and a coronavirus scare in midweek at one of the players' hotels, the draw was only made a few days in advance.
And Jones' first-ever opponent in the main draw of a grand slam will be American player Shelby Rogers.
It will be a tough ask for the 20-year-old Brit, who is ranked 245th in the world.
Rogers is in reasonable form, reaching the Yarra Valley Classic quarter-final earlier this week, where she was beaten by last year's Australian Open semi-finalist, and former French Open winner, Ashleigh Barty.
The American has gone deep at previous grand slams herself, reaching a French Open quarter-final in 2016 and the last-eight of the US Open in 2020.
Unlike Rogers, Jones has just had the one match since arriving in Australia, losing 6-1 6-3 in the Yarra Valley tournament to Argentinian star Nadia Podoroska.
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