Last year’s Indian Wells champion Paula Badosa dropped just four games to beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 6-0 in 1 hour and 22 minutes to reach the second round at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Badosa scored her second win over Tomljanovic in just six days. Last week the Spanish player beat her Australian opponent 6-3 6-4 in the second round of the Sydney Tennis Classic en route to her third career title.
The opening set featured seven breaks of serve and three deuce games. Tomljanovic earned an early break in the first game after three double faults from Badosa. The Spanish player broke straight back and earned her second break in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead.
Badosa won four of the set’s five deuce games, including a break in a marathon tenth game to win the first set 6-4, as Tomljanovic sent consecutive forehands into the net.
Both players took simultaneus medical time-outs and returned to the court with their right thighs strapped. Badosa broke three times to take a bagel win in the second set and sealed her sixth consecutive win on her first match point with a backhand crosscourt.
Badosa set up a second round match against 2020 Roland Garros quarter finalist Martina Trevisan, who beat Japanese qualifier Nao Hibino 6-2 6-3 to clinch her first Australian Open main draw win at her first attempt.
Jelena Ostapenko rallied from one set down to beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 6-1 after 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Schmiedlova went up a 3-0 lead, but Ostapenko won five consecutive games to take a 5-3 lead. Schmiedlova broke back to force the opening set to the tie-break. Schmiedlova came back from 2-6 down and converted her first set point with a forehand winner.
Schmiedlova held four break points to take an early lead in the third game of the second set, but Ostapenko saved them to win her service game after three deuces. Ostapenko earned a break in the fourth game to take a 4-1 lead. Schmiedlova broke back in the seventh game to draw level to 4-4. Ostapenko broke for the second time in the 10th game to close out the second set 6-4. The former Roland Garros champion broke twice in the fourth and sixth games to win the third set 6-1.
Ostapenko set up a second round match against last week’s Adelaide champion Alison Riske, who dropped just seven points on serve to beat Donna Vekic 6-2 6-2.
Jessica Pegula also rallied from losing the opening set to beat Anhelina Kalinina 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 in 2 hours and 52 minutes in the longest match of day 1. Kalinina came back from 2-4 down to clinch the first set 6-4, after saving six break-back points as she was serving it out.
Kalinina did not face a break point in the second set, which went on serve en route to the tie-break. Pegula cuised through to winning the tie-break 7-1 with three mini-breaks. Kalinina went down a break twice but she drew level both times, but Pegula converted her first match point with her fifth ace. Pegula will face Bernarda Pera, who beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5 6-3.
