Unheralded Australian Andrew Whittington is one win away from a dream Wimbledon debut after grinding his way into the final round of qualifying at the All England Club.
The 23-year-old scored a spirited 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-4 victory over American journeyman Tim Smyczek to move closer to a main-draw berth of the grasscourt grand slam, starting on Monday.
Whittington will play America's Denis Kudla for a coveted place alongside Davis Cup stars Nick Kyrgios, Bernard Tomic, Jordan Thompson and Thanasi Kokkinakis in Wimbledon's 128-man draw.
The world No.209 was among five Australian qualifying winners on Wednesday, with John-Patrick Smith also beating an American, Mackenzie McDonald, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 in his second-round match.
All three Australian women in action advanced to the second round, with teenage ace Destanee Aiava leading the way with a 6-3, 6-0 drubbing of British hope Freya Christie.
Arina Rodionova also progressed in straight sets with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Nina Stojanovic, while Townsville 19-year-old Lizette Cabrera advanced with a more difficult 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Tereza Smitkova.
Young guns Blake Mott and Alex Di Minaur's hopes of a Wimbledon debut ended with second-round defeats in men's qualifying.
Bolt lost 7-5, 6-4 to highly rated Kazakh Alexander Bublik, while Di Minaur went down 6-2, 6-4 to Japan's Tatsuma Ito.
- AAPÂ