She was coming off the back of a high after watching her good friend Walton in a topsy turvey five-set battle against the former US Open champion.
“I think as Aussies we really do cheer each other on,” Birrell said concluding the brace of Aussie wins. “I’m good friends with Adam, and his coach (Mark Draper) as well has helped me out in my career. When I saw he won, I was following his match and then saw him and his coach afterwards, and I was super happy for him.
“I think I did feel and I was inspired by his win. When you see someone have a result like that, it does give you a little bit of a pep in your step. I think it’s maybe not a coincidence.”
Breaking new ground at Roland Garros
It is a third top 10 win for Birrell following prior triumphs against Daria Kasatkina and Emma Navarro. It is a first major win outside of her native Australian Open, breaking new ground while securing a huge confidence boost from taking down one of the best players in the world.
All the hard work has paid off as she finally adjusts to the clay surface. “To really just know that I’ve put in the work and to trust it on a match court, I think that’s the difference that happened today, because in the last few matches, I’ve felt like I’ve been able to play how I want to play on clay in practice, but not quite done it and executed it in the big points in matches. I guess I’m just really proud that I was able to play this well on a surface that doesn’t feel that familiar to me, to be honest.”
Kimberly Birrell is in the second round of Roland Garros after defeating Jessica Pegula in three sets
Getting valuable support in Paris
Birrell was born in Germany before moving to Australia. Her dad, John, was a coach and played his trade in Europe where Birrell’s mum, Ros, befriended a Parisian and is still very good friends with her today, opening a blossoming relationship which still occurs today.
“My parents, they’re Aussies, but they lived in Germany for quite a while and I was born there (before) they moved home,” she explained. “My mum met a lovely French lady who is now her best friend, and they’ve been best friends since their 20s when they met in Germany. So each time I come to Paris, I stay with them, and they’ve also come to Australia throughout my childhood.
While on the other side of the world from her native Australia, she still gets good support in Paris thanks to her mum’s friendship. “Their girls are a similar age to me and my brother (and) they are some of our closest family friends. They always come to watch me play here in Paris. I haven’t quite got the win for them, so I think this was a pretty cool moment for me to see them in the stands and with them watching too.
“As Aussies, we’re just on the road all the time, so to have somewhere where I can … see people that I love, leave some stuff in Europe and make my bags a little bit lighter when I’m traveling around to tournaments, get a home-cooked meal (is great). I also know the area that they live really well now. It’s so familiar. I think that really helps. We all try to find little pieces of home on the road, and this is definitely a piece of home for me.”