Darian loses Aussie Open qualifier

THE DREAM is on hold for now.

Darian King’s quest to make the main draw of a Grand Slam will have to wait until Roland Garros now after Barbados’ top-ranked pro lost his first round match in the Australian Open qualifiers earlier Wednesday morning.

Playing against hometown boy Benjamin Mitchell, King fell in a 6-2, 6-4 straight-sets defeat to the world no.235 in an hour and 11 minutes.

It’s the second straight Grand Slam qualifier appearance for the 23 year old Bajan ace, who first played in last year’s U.S. Open qualifiers. But he didn’t advance at Flushing Medows, having also lost his first round encounter following a tough third-set tiebreak. (JM)