DAY 4 of the Australian Open saw Croatian 19th seed Donna Vekic take on Frenchwoman Alize Cornet at Melbourne Arena. A tight first set preceded a more dominant second set from Vekic, seeing her eventually run away victor, 6-4 6-2 in just over an hour and a half of play.

Cornet got off to a solid start but may have played her cards too early, winning the first game but dropping the next two as Vekic warmed her way into the match, ultimately no match for the Croatian once she got going. With both players capitalising off their respective service games neither was able to really take control, and while Vekic seemed to have momentum Cornet was able to use her craftiness and experience to win back valuable points, only losing the first set by two games.

While Cornet’s hits seemed to go the length of the court from early on but frustration caused more ball to go out of court than intended, all but gifting Vekic points. On the other side of the net, Vekic was more willing to test the waters closer to the net and make her 61-ranked opponent play to her racket. The second set saw the tables turn as Cornet found her form when two sets down, making Vekic chase the ball more. Cornet was unable to really muster up the consistency she needed however, and despite some vocal fans in the crowd she could not get the job done.

Though the more error ridden on the day with 24 unforced errors and four double faults, Vekic was more clinical riding the baseline and crafting pinpoint precision hits down the line. Vekic hit 38 winners to Cornet’s 15 and with a serve averaging 166 kmh the Croatian will be happy with her wins off the first serve, sitting on a stellar 79 per cent.

Serving for the match, Vekic finished off well for a 6-2 6-4 victory, heading into her career-first third round match at the Australian Open after seven previous first or second round exits.