LONDON, July 2 — Ajla Tomljanovic reached the Wimbledon last 16 today — a surprise for her father, who only booked her into tournament accommodation until after the second round.

Despite making the quarter-finals last year, Ratko Tomljanovic had only reserved their nearby house until Friday.

“I was like, you thought I’d lose second round,” said Tomljanovic. “At least book it till like Sunday.

So it’s a good problem to have. I’m not really satisfied being in the third round and then moving houses.”

The 29-year-old Australian said finding a new place was a headache.

“The problem was it’s so hard to find something. London is packed, and I didn’t want to stay an hour away. He didn’t take it well. I gave him a lot of grief yesterday.”

Tomljanovic managed to find a hotel near the All England Club on Friday.

With that settled, she was able to seal a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Czech 13th seed and 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova.

However, there was more bad news from Ratko today.

“Today when I finished, he’s like, ‘Oh, I have to book again’. I was, like, ‘you’re kidding me’.

“He wasn’t kidding but he managed to book the same hotel, so I have a room probably until Tuesday.

“But I don’t care. I said, even if someone is joining me in my room, I’m not leaving this hotel.”

Next up for the world number 44 is a last-16 clash against either world number one Iga Swiatek or French veteran Alize Cornet.

She says her father will keep booking her flights and hotels as he has done throughout her career even if his explanation for the hotel blunder left her bamboozled.

“He’s like, ‘Ajla, hungry rats swim the fastest’, whatever that means,” she added.

“I’m like, ‘I’m not a rat and I’m not hungry. I just want my house from the beginning till the end, or maybe you should just believe in me a little more’.” — AFP