Well done to James Ward and Laura Robson

James Ward and Laura Robson are through to the main draw at the Australian Open after coming through qualifying.

Ward, 24, beat Dutchman Igor Sijsling 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 to earn a place in a Grand Slam event for the first time outside the United Kingdom.

The 24-year-old has made two appearances at Wimbledon, losing in the first round in 2009 and 2011.

Robson, 17, saw off Ukraine's Olga Savchuk, winning 6-1 7-6 (7-2) in 75 minutes.

She has more experience on the big stage having played at Wimbledon three times and also making it into the second round at the US Open last year.

There will be six players from Britain competing in Melbourne, with Andy Murray, Elena Baltacha, Heather Watson and Anne Keothavong already in the draw.

Both players will discover their first-round opponents when qualifying is complete.

well done to both of them

James Ward is the first British Man to qualify for a GS event since 2008. His first round opponent will be Blaz Kavcic (WR 104) from Slovenia. Potentially a winnable match. It could see Ward on the way to bettering his current career high on 139 achieved in August 2011.

that's a great draw for Ward.

Mad for Chelsea wrote:that's a great draw for Ward.

Yep, if he wins that one he will go on to meet Del Potro

2nd round would be a good achievement.

Well done to James Ward. I do believe this will be his first slam appearance outside Wimbledon. Certainly has a winnable First Round match which would give him a host of crucial ranking points.