ZOE Hives bowed out of her debut junior girls’ Australian Open in three sets on Sunday, but the Kingston teenager says playing in her first grand slam has been a dream come true.The Mount Clear College student lost her first-round showdown with Italian Camilla Rosatello by just 7-5 in the third set, after taking out the first and matching the Italian closely in shots.A crowd gathered at Melbourne Park to watch the Australian, giving Hives her biggest ever audience.“It was a whole new experience with all the stuff that was happening,” Hives said. “It’s so much bigger with all the security and everything – it was good though.”Click here to view photos from the Australian Open Day 7Hives, 15, gained entry to the main draw of 64 after systematically knocking out three opponents in qualifying matches last week.Hives said she was “a bit nervous” stepping out onto the court for Sunday’s main draw match and that the atmosphere was unlike any she’d previously experienced.It was a big moment for the teen, who has wanted to play grand slams since starting tennis.“I’ve wanted to do it and it was good to get the chance,” she said.All was going well for Hives until the second set. The teen was fighting a cold and found her energy dipping.During the gruelling and lengthy match, her opponent refused to give an inch.“It was hard because she kept on coming and didn’t give up,” Hives said.“It was close. I believe I could have played better and I think if I’d played better I might have got over the line.“I was really happy to get through qualifying.”Hives backed up her singles debut with a junior girls’ Australian Open doubles match yesterday.She paired up with fellow Victorian Belinda Woolcock against the world No.3 junior girls’ seeds Ilka Csoregi and Elizaveta Kulichkova from Romania and Russia. The Australian duo put in a competitive showing to lose the match 6-3, 7-5.Hives, who is coached by Peter Joyce in Ballarat, became a national tennis champion in October after claiming victory against Sara Tomic in the final of the Optus Spring Nationals 14/under girls’ singles.