Ajla Tomljanovic makes incredible gesture after heartbreaking Australian Open loss to bitter rival she once called a 'liar'

Ajla Tomljanovic's Australian Open journey is over The Aussie was facing on bitter foe Jelena Ostapenko The pair patched things up after the match 

Ajla Tomljanovic’s Australian Open journey has come to an end, but her campaign ended on a positive note as she patched things up with her Latvian rival Jelena Ostapenko.

The Australian was bidding to make the third round of the Open for the first time but fell to world No.10 Ostapenko 6-0 3-6 6-4, leaving Storm Hunter as the only local hope remaining in the women’s singles draw.

With a number of the women’s seeds tumbling out, including 2023 finalist Elena Rybakina, veteran Ostapenko will now be favoured to top her previous best at Melbourne Park which was last year’s quarter-final showing.

The victory continued her impressive form after the 2017 French Open champion won the lead-in tournament in Adelaide.

The Thursday night showdown, which didn’t finish until after midnight, was a rematch of their infamous clash at Wimbledon in 2021.

Ajla Tomljanovic patched things up with her bitter rival at the Australian Open

Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko advanced to the third round on Thursday evening

Then Ostapenko – 4-0 down in the final set – insisted she needed a medical timeout for an abdominal injury with a furious Tomljanovic telling the chair that her opponent was ‘lying’.

Ostapenko won the next two games but Tomljanovic went on to take the set and match.

The two then exchanged words at the net, before trading barbs in their respective press conferences.

This time, Ostapenko saved her anger for her coaching box, sending many of them out of the stadium as she lost her way in the second set.

In the first set, the aggressive 26-year-old was unstoppable, with Tomljanovic railed 6-0 in just 19 minutes.

The Australian, who was ruled out of the 2023 Open in tears with a knee injury that ruined her season, left the court and reset for the second set.

While Ostapenko’s serve went missing Tomljanovic showed her poise to break to go ahead 3-2 and then blasted a forehand winner on her third set point to level at a set apiece.

The pair both dropped their serves early in the third but then Ostapenko broke a second time to go up 4-2 and from wrapped up the match.

The pair infamously clashed at the Wimbledon Championships in 2021

The pair embraced at the net, with smiles all around.

Ostapenko said she knew it would be tough to maintain her high standard after the first set.

‘Sometimes, when the first set goes too easy, when you play too well, it’s kind of the hardest part of the game as I knew it was not going to be easy in the second set because I played really well in the first ,’ she said.

‘I’m really glad I managed to win in the third and I’m happy to be through.’

The Latvian will next meet Belarusian two-time champion Victoria Azarenka, the 18th seed who also prevailed in a tough encounter 6-4 3-6 6-2 with Dane Clara Tauson.