Tasmanian Jessica Fowler came within inches of securing qualification for the Launceston International main draw, falling to Japan's Himari Sato 4-6 6-1 10-1.
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Rallying from a 3-4 deficit, the 19-year-old peeled off three games in a row to take the first set 6-4 before Sato - the draw's No.3 seed and world No. 774 - showed her class.
"I thought I served really well throughout the game - the whole match pretty much," Fowler said.
Fowler won through to the third round of the tournament, which finishes on Sunday, after defeating New Zealand's Monique Barry 6-1 7-6, describing her two opponents as polar opposites.
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"Sunday it was extremely windy and obviously playing against different players - a lower-ranked player compared to a top player - obviously my game is going to change and my game has to step up against these top girls.
"It's obviously really hard when you think you've hit a winner and the ball just comes back. I had to go out and play my shots, hitting as many winners as I could as I couldn't match her in consistency."
The loss brings an end to the Tasmanian run of tournaments for Fowler, with Sunday's win over Barry her first in her home state following contests against Ukrainian world No. 83 Kateryna Kozlova in Hobart and Kiwi Erin Routliffe in Burnie.
But the summer of tennis is far from over for the former Elizabeth College student.
"I'm finishing off playing the Australian Pro Tours. I have two in Perth, there's one in Canberra and once the Aussie swing is done, hopefully I am able to get overseas like I did last year.
"I'm really excited to see what this year has in store for me. I love being able to travel and play tennis, it's my dream and I'm really fortunate this has happened."
The Tasmanian talent hopes her tournament isn't fully over however, as she aims to compete in the doubles partnering Zara Brankovic, who powered her way through to the main draw with a 6-1 6-1 victory over Isabella Bozicevic.
Raised in St Helens, Fowler packed her bags and moved to Hobart at the age of 13 to chase her tennis dream.
"It was hard living away from home but I was fortunate enough to stay with a family that looked after me a great deal.
"Obviously it was hard moving at such a young age but it was definitely the right move to make, it had its challenges but looking where I am now, it was worth it."
Stepping on the court to assist head coach John Playle at the Hobart Tennis Academy, Fowler spends her time mentoring Tasmania's top tennis talents including George Anderson, Summer and Olivia Wilkinson and Rupert Mullins.
"John has been amazing. We got to travel the world last year playing tennis and it's both of our dreams to do that.
"It will be exciting to see where the talent he is producing at his academy go to with their tennis in the next few years."
By the end of this year, the former St Helens District and Rose Bay High School student hopes to obtain a WTA ranking to make entering tournaments easier.
"I need to win one more WTA point. I have two and you need to win three - one in each tournament - so I just need one more good win and then I've got it."
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