A COUPLE of massive upsets to completed Round 1 of the Australian Open women’s draw, with four seeds bundled out of contention, including a couple of future stars.

Sixth seed Belinda Bencic overturned recent form against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova around in a straight sets win, 6-3 7-5. Bencic and Schmiedlova both hit 25 winners, but the Swiss young gun was more economical with less unforced errors and a greater proficiency at the net. The Slovakian did well on serve percentage, but could not capitalise with points on the board, only winning 59 per cent of her first serves.

A fellow 22-year-old has earned the right to face Bencic, with Latvian Jelena Ostapenko getting past Liudmila Samsonova, 6-1 6-4. Ostapanko produced 11 aces and won 80 per cent off her first serve, also producing 27 winners en-route to her comfortable win. She broke on all three of her opportunities, while saving the five created by Samsonova. The Slovakian bowed out on the back of not being able to generate enough winners despite creating break point opportunities.

In the other two games completed on Day 2, 19th seed Donna Vekic progressed through to the second round after defeating former world number one, Maria Sharapova in straight sets. The Croatian 19th seed will now take on French veteran, Alize Cornet in the second round following a come-from-behind victory. Cornet lost the first set 7-5, before smashing her opponent, Romanian qualifier Monica Niculescu 5-7 6-1 6-0. The Frenchwoman hit 38 winners in the match and completely nullified her opponent, restricting the Romanian to just 19 points after the first set in a one-sided affair.

Earlier today, Anett Kontaveit downed Australian wildcard hope Astra Sharma in a 6-0 6-2 rout in just 59 minutes of action. Kontaveit put the foot down from the start and the 28th seed Estonian never let up, hitting nine winners and breaking six times on her way to a huge win. Sharma broke once herself, but could only win the two games for the match in a quick Round 1 exit.

In three one-sided sets, Sara Sorribes Tormo was better for longer in her two-hour win over Veronika Kudermetova. The 23-year-old world number 90 was too good for the 22-year-old top 50 player after the first set, allowing the Russian to make countless errors, including 67 unforced ones throughout the contest. Sorribes Tormo won 46 per cent of her receiving points, and while she only hit 11 winners, had a more manageable 24 unforced errors. She advances through to meet Kontaveit in the next round.

Poland’s Iga Swiatek also advanced through early on Day 3, defeating Hungarian Timea Babos in a smooth 6-3 6-2 win. Swiatek was difficult to penetrate on serve with an 84 per cent first serve winning record, as well as an impressive 65 per cent on her second serve. Making the most of each break point opportunity, the 18-year-old broke three times and hit 28 winners on her way to an eye-opening win that could announce herself in the tournament.

Awaiting Swiatek in the next round is Spanish veteran Carla Suarez Navarro who downed 11th seed, Aryna Sabalenka, 7-6 7-6 in just over two hours. Despite Sabalenka having a set point in the second, a couple of wild unforced errors, and the consistency of the Spaniard now in her farewell tour – to retire at year’s end – cost the Belarusian. Sabalenka hit more winners (32-18) but also produced a stack more unforced errors (58-36) with her return of serve the worst culprit given a tournament-high 17 return unforced errors a real issue for the up-and-comer.

[6] B. Bencic (SUI) defeated A. Schmiedlova (SVK) 6-3 7-5
J. Ostapenko (LAT) defeated [Q] L. Samsonova (RUS) 6-1 6-4
S. Sorribes Tormo (ESP) defeated V. Kudermetova (RUS) 2-6 6-1 6-1
[28] A. Kontaveit (EST) defeated [WC] A. Sharma (AUS) 6-0 6-2
[19] D. Vekic (CRO) defeated [WC] M. Sharapova (RUS) 6-3 6-4
A. Cornet (FRA) defeated [Q] M. Niculescu (ROU) 5-7 6-1 6-0
I. Swiatek (POL) defeated T. Babos (HUN) 6-3 6-2
C. Suarez Navarro (ESP) defeated [11] A. Sabalenka (BLR) 7-6 7-6

World number four, Simona Halep overcame a tight first set with the dangerous Jennifer Brady to defeat the American, 7-6 6-1. Halep broke five times to two and finished with a serving efficiency of 78 per cent. She was just that bit cleaner when it counted, hitting 20 winners and 23 unforced errors to 24 and 35 for her opponent respectively. Halep takes on British qualifier, Heather Dart in the next round.

Dart was forced to come from behind after losing the first set 6-2 to Japan’s Misaki Doi. The British 173rd ranked 23-year-old settled after the first set to record a 2-6 6-4 7-6 victory, claiming the super tiebreak 10-6. The game was far from the most clinical, with the pair producing a combined 68 winners but 110 unforced errors. Both players were great at the net, but struggled to maintain ascendancy on serve, with just over half of the points won by the server.

In-form American, Danielle Collins continued her strong 2020 season thus far with a three-set win over Russian, Vitalia Diatchenko. In just over two hours, Collins triumphed 6-1 3-6 6-4 to progress through to the second round. She hit 30 winners and controlled her serve with a 68 per cent first serve winning ratio, while breaking six times. Diatchenko only broke the four times and while she was solid across the board, just lacked the extra touch of class.

Yulia Putinseva advanced into the Round of 64 thanks to a comfortable 6-1 6-3 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Su Wei Hsieh. In a match that lasted an hour and 18 minutes, Putinseva was conservative with her approach given her 11 winners and 12 unforced errors, while her opponent only hit one more winner but an additional 16 unforced errors. The Kazakhstani world number 38 won half of her receiving points and made the most of her second serve with an 85 per cent success rate. She also broke five times to one which was the crucial factor in the Round 1 win.

It took until a 10-7 score in the super tiebreaker, but 20th seed Karolina Muchova made her way through to the second round to face American Catherine Bellis. Muchova won 6-3 2-6 7-6 against Belgian, Kirsten Flipkens to book a spot in the Round of 64. It was a loose game from Muchova who hit an impressive 44 winners, but also produced 60 unforced errors – 13 coming off the return. She was strong upon her return though, winning 44 per cent of her receiving points and broke five times, but was broken five times herself and will want to step it up given a potential third round matchup with Elise Mertens looms.

Bellis raced past German, Tatjana Maria in just 52 minutes with a 6-0 6-2 belting on Court 14. Bellis served at a 73 per cent efficiency, winning 70 per cent of her first serve points and making the most of all five break point opportunities. She hit only 10 unforced errors for the match along with 22 winners, and showed proficiency both at the net and baseline, confident she can topple the 20th seed next round.

In-form Brit, Heather Watson beat out Kristyna Pliskova in a come-from-behind win on Court 12 today. In just under two hours, Watson won 4-6 6-3 6-1 with an elite 93 per cent net points record, as well as nine aces and 38 winners. She won 79 per cent of her first serve points and broke five times to Pliskova’s twice, and controlled proceedings after the disappointing first set.

Now Watson has a tough ask against 16th seed Elise Mertens who was in ripping form today at Melbourne Park. The last first round match to be completed, Mertens brushed aside Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic in less than an hour, winning 6-2 6-0. Hitting 17 winners and only 13 unforced errors, the Belgian won 78 per cent of her first serve points and 52 per cent of her receiving points. Kovinic struggled against Merten’s flexibility, hitting just six winners and 27 unforced errors in the Round 1 match.

[16] E. Mertens (BEL) defeated D. Kovinic (MON) 6-2 6-0
H. Watson (GBR) defeated K. Pliskova (CZE) 4-6 6-3 6-1
C. Bellis (USA) defeated T. Maria (GER) 6-2 6-0
[20] K. Muchova (CZE) defeated K. Flipkens (BEL) 6-3 2-6 7-6
[26] D. Collins (USA) defeated V. Diatchenko (RUS) 6-1 3-6 6-4
Y. Putintseva (KAZ) defeated S. Hsieh (TAI) 6-1 6-3
[Q] H. Dart (GBR) defeated M. Doi (JPN) 2-6 6-4 7-6
[4] S. Halep (ROU) defeated J. Brady (USA) 7-6 6-1

Fifth seed Ukrainian, Elina Svitolina moved through to the second round of the Open with a 6-4 7-5 win over Great Britain’s Katie Boulter. Svitolina did what she had to do in what was a strong effort from Boulter, but the Ukrainian broke four times to her opponents’ twice. She also recorded impressive numbers with her service, all ahead of Boulter who opted for a run-and-gun strategy of 27 winners and 33 unforced errors while the world number five had 17 and 20 respectively.

Waiting for Svitolina in the next round is American Lauren Davis who knocked out Canadian qualifier, Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-2. Fernandez had a good first serve percentage of 77, but could not convert that efficiency into points, winning just 52 per cent on serve, while her opponent won 63 per cent of her points. Davis hit 26 winners for the match, and won 11 of a possible 12 net points in a strong showing upon approach.

A Grand Slam winner put behind a sluggish start to race away in one of the more bizarre first round matches of the tournament. Garbine Muguruza was blown out of the water in the first set to American qualifier Shelby Rogers, before turning it around and only losing one game in the last two sets to win 0-6 6-1 6-0. Muguruza won just nine points in the opening set, while Rogers helped herself to 26, without dropping a point on her first serve, and winning 13 of a possible 18 on return. The next two sets saw Muguruza winning 60 points to 29 as she finished the match with 20 winners and a 71 per cent first serve point success rate. She will need to improve drastically if she is going to compete against the top players in the WTA Tour.

The Muguruza match would give Australia’s number two singles player, Ajla Tomljanovic confidence after she dismantled 31st seed, Anastasija Sevastova 6-1 6-1. In an hour and 17 minutes, 52nd ranked Tomljanovic hit 19 winners to 16, and only had 22 unforced errors to 30. The 26-year-old was dominant on her first serve, winning 80 per cent of her points and saving seven break point opportunities whilst capitalising on five of 13 for herself.

Another promising young seed dropped out of the Australian Open with 21st seeded American teenager, Amanda Anisimova losing in three sets to 73rd ranked Kazakhstani, Zarina Diyas. The underdog got up 6-3 4-6 6-3 to move through to the Round of 64 on the back of winning 48 per cent of her receiving points and controlling her play with 15 winners and only 19 unforced errors. Anisimova left nothing out on the court with a brutal 45 winners – including seven off the return – but also 62 unforced errors – eight of which were off the return.

Diyas confronts another young star in Anna Blinkova in the second round. The 21-year-old Russian defeated Italian, Jasmine Paolini 7-5 6-4 in an hour and 40 minutes. Hitting 34 winners and breaking six times, Blinkova was able to convert crucial points into game-winning opportunities in a match where she was not entirely clinical, but still did enough to get past Paolini. The 196th ranked Italian won less than half of her first serve points and only served with 53 per cent efficiency.

Arina Rodionova became the second Australian in the eighth to progress through to the Round of 64 following a come-from-behind win over Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko. Rodionova earned a wildcard in the draw and worked hard from 6-3 down to post a 3-6 7-6 6-0 win, storming to victory in the end. After a heartbreaking tiebreak loss which with two points difference would have paved her way through to the next round, Bondarenko fell away in the decider, winning just seven points and hitting a mind-boggling 18 unforced errors as Rodionova took control with 24 points and just one unforced error.

The next round is a tough ask for Rodionova who meets ninth seed Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens in the second round. Bertens skipped past Romanian Irina Camelia Begu, 6-1 6-4 in an hour and 15 minutes and faces an eighth that has had a fair bit of upheaval. The world number 10 made the most of her break point opportunities, breaking four of a possible five times, while Begu could only manage once from the same amount of chances. Bertens hit 17 winners and won 78 per cent of her first serve points in a strong first outing before moving on for tomorrow’s clash.

[5] E. Svitolina (UKR) defeated K. Boulter (GBR) 6-4 7-5
L. Davis (USA) defeated [Q] L. Fernandez (CAN) 6-4 6-2
G. Muguruza (ESP) defeated [Q] S. Rogers (USA) 0-6 6-1 6-0
A. Tomljanovic (AUS) defeated [31] A. Sevastova (LAT) 6-1 6-1
Z. Diyas (KAZ) defeated [21] A. Anisimova (USA) 6-3 4-6 6-3
A. Blinkova (RUS) defeated J. Paolini (ITA) 7-5 6-4
[WC] A. Rodionova (AUS) defeated K. Bondarenko (UKR) 3-6 7-6 6-0
[9] K. Bertens (NED) defeated I. Begu (ROU) 6-1 6-4

Karolina Pliskova overcame challenging French rival, Kristina Mladenovic on Day 2 with a straight sets win to move the world number two into the second round. Pliskova posted a 6-1 7-5 victory over Mladenovic, hitting 20 winners to 14 and having an elite first serve success of 82 per cent. She broke her opponent four times during the match had had just the 17 unforced errors, overpowering her opponent on serve and only allowing Mladenovic 26 per cent of points in those games. She now moves through to face another straight sets winner in Germany’s Laura Siegemund.

Siegemund won in an hour and 25 minutes, downing American wildcard Coco Vandeweghe 6-1 6-4. In the match, Siegemund recorded a 70 per cent efficiency with her first serve and was particularly good at recovering points on her second serve with 63 per cent to her opponents’ 38 per cent. Vandeweghe was strong at the net with a 72 per cent success rate, but hit 28 unforced errors to Siegemund’s 16.

Fellow German, Angelique Kerber joined Siegemund in the Round of 64 with a 6-2 6-2 thumping of Italian qualifier, Elisabetta Cocciaretto. The Grand Slam winner was measured in her approach with just 17 winners to her opponents’ 32, but had just the 14 unforced errors as Cocciaretto sprayed 36 in the match. Her work both on serve (74 per cent first serve points won) and return (49 per cent of receiving points won) was first class and deserving of moving through to the next stage of the tournament.

Facing Kerber in the second round is Australian up-and-comer, Priscilla Hon who also broke through for her first victory at the Australian Open. The 21-year-old wildcard defeated Ukrainian, Kateryna Kozlova 6-3 6-4 by breaking seven times to five and winning more than half of her receiving points. Both players serves were not overly impressive with less than 50 per cent of points won on serve, but Hon produced 30 winners to 20, and looked more proactive on court.

The biggest upset of the eighth was two-time Grand Slam winner, Svetlana Kuznetsova defeating 15th seed, Marketa Vondrousova. Kuznetsova opened up the draw with the three-set win, triumphing 6-2 4-6 6-4 in an hour and 52 minutes. Kuznetsova used all her power to get home in the match, hitting 37 winners and approaching the net regularly to win 76 per cent of her points there. She did hit 36 unforced errors, but won 54 per cent of her receiving points to unsettle the Czech throughout the game. A total of nine breaks for the winner and seven for Vondrousova marked a game that was not the cleanest by serve.

In the last game of the eighth, Italian Camilla Giorgi got up in straight sets over German qualifier, Antonio Lottner 6-3 6-3. Taking just an hour and 20 minutes, Giorgi took all four break point opportunities in the match, whilst only being broken once. She had a 50-50 comparison with winners and unforced errors thanks to 21-apiece, but was far superior with her receiving points, winning 43 per cent compared to 29 per cent.

In one of the first matches on Day 3, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova booked a Round 2 spot with a straight sets win over Serbia’s Nina Stojanovic, 6-1 7-5. The 30th seed Russian took out the match in an hour and 12 minutes thanks to 17 winners and a high serving percentage, as well as five breaks. Stojanovic broke on both her break point opportunities, but hit 26 unforced errors to go with her 10 winners.

The other match completed on Day 3 of the tournament was the all-American affair which saw Taylor Townsend salute against Jessica Pegula, 6-4 7-6 in an hour and 49 minutes. After a tumultuous first set where the two broke five times, neither player could break through until Townsend got the mini-break in the tiebreaker to salute 7-5 to progress through to the Round of 64. She hit three more winners and four less unforced errors in a fairly even contest that showed the developing talent of American tennis.

S. Kuznetsova (RUS) defeated [15] M. Vondrousova (CZE) 6-2 4-6 6-4
C. Giorgi (ITA) defeated [Q] A. Lottner (GER) 6-3 6-3
[WC] P. Hon (AUS) defeated K. Kozlova (UKR) 6-3 6-4
[17] A. Kerber (GER) defeated [Q] E. Cocciaretto (ITA) 6-2 6-2
[30] A. Pavlyuchecnkova (RUS) defeated N. Stojanovic (SRB) 6-1 7-5
T. Townsend (USA) defeated J. Pegula (USA) 6-4 7-6
L. Siegemund (GER) defeated [WC] C. Vandeweghe (USA) 6-1 6-4
[2] K. Pliskova (CZE) defeated K. Mladenovic (FRA) 6-1 7-5