Mathewson, Wagner head Down Under for Australian Open

American hopes in the wheelchair event at the Australian Open will rest with Dana Mathewson and David Wagner.

The highest-ranking U.S. woman and man in the quad rankings, respectively, will contest both singles and doubles at Melbourne Park when the wheelchair tournament begins on Sunday.

Mathewson, who made her Roland Garros debut last year, is playing in her first Australian Open, while Wagner has played every tournament since 2008. The pair each competed in the Victorian Wheelchair Open and the Melbourne Wheelchair Open to start 2022; Wagner played the consolation final at each tournament, while Mathewson was beaten in her first match at both tournaments. 

Wagner, now 47, enters the tournament ranked world No. 4, while Mathewson checks in at a career-high world No. 7. The seven-best players in the world rankings qualify for each of the three wheelchair draws—men's, women's and quads—on merit, along with one wild card. 

Unseeded, the two Americans will face top seeds in the quarterfinals of the eight-player singles fields: Mathewson was draw against No. 1 seed Diede de Groot of the Netherlands, while Wagner will face No. 2 seed Sam Schroder, also of the the Netherlands.

In doubles, Mathewson and South African partner Kgothatso Montjane will face No. 1 seeds de Groot and Aniek van Koot in the semifinals, while Wagner and Great Britain's Andy Lapthorne, seeded No. 2, will place South Africa's Donald Ramphadi and Japan's Koji Sugeno for a spot in the final.

While Mathewson is breaking new ground in her career regardless of result, Wagner is bidding for a ninth quad doubles title in Australia, and last reached the singles final in 2019.

For more from Melbourne, including complete draws, order of play and more, visit the official Australian Open website.