IT was a successful day across the board for the top echelon of international talent at both the Yarra Valley Classic and Gippsland Trophy, with just one seed falling at each of the two competitions. Both competitions played both the Round of 32 and 64 in a huge day of action, with plenty of tough contests around the grounds.

At the Yarra Valley Classic, it was almost a clean sweep from seeds with just Donna Vekic falling to a feisty Tsvetana Pironkova in three sets, 1-6 6-4 6-2. The only remaining Australian in the draw, Daria Gavrilova, was unfortunate to draw Serena Williams in just her second match since her return, and was unable to hold up under pressure from the champion, while Karolina Pliskova disposed of Elisabetta Cocciaretto with ease, as did Danielle Collins with her Serbian opposition, Nina Stojanovic.

The two former world number ones in Williams and Pliskova were unshakeable throughout their contests, hitting 27 and 30 winners respectively. Joining them in the Round of 16 are the likes of Croatian Petra Martic, who was tested by Belarusian Vera Lapko but prevailed, and eighth seed Marketa Vondrousova who defeated Varvara Gracheva in a 6-4 6-0 contest.

In the day’s Round of 16 results, 11th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and 14th seed Nadia Podoroska both carved out straight set wins with 6-1 first sets apiece, while Vera Zvonareva battled Kristyna Pliskova in a close-to two hour encounter and Alison van Uytvanck disposed of Suwei Hsieh 6-2 6-0.

YARRA VALLEY CLASSIC ROUND OF 32 RESULTS:

[3] Karolina Pliskova (CZE) defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA) 6-3 6-2
[5] Serena Williams (USA) defeated Daria Gavrilova (AUS) 6-1 6-4
[7] Petra Martic (CRO) defeated Vera Lapko (BLR) 4-6 6-4 6-2
[8] Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) defeated Varvara Gracheva (RUS) 6-4 6-0
Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) defeated [9] Donna Vekic (CRO) 1-6 6-4 6-2
[13] Danielle Collins (USA) defeated Nina Stojanovic (SRB) 6-2 6-1

YARRA VALLEY CLASSIC ROUND OF 64 RESULTS:

[11] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) defeated Misaki Doi (JPN) 6-1 6-4
[14] Nadia Podoroska (KAZ) defeated Francesca Jones (GBR) 6-1 6-3
Vera Zvonareva (RUS) defeated Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) 6-4 6-7 6-3
Alison van Uytvanck (BEL) defeated Suwei Hsieh (TPE) 6-2 6-0

At the Gippsland Trophy, things went much the same for the seeds with just Qiang Wang falling at the hands of Italian Jasmine Paolini. The top seeds in Simona Halep and Elina Svitolina joined the draw and were immediately successful, coming away with wins in just over an hour apiece, while Ekaterina Alexandrova and Jelena Ostapenko both reigned supreme in close encounters. Eighth seed Karolina Muchova downed American Caty McNally 6-1 6-1 in just 62 minutes for the shortest match of the day.

The longest match award went to 16-year-old Coco Gauff, though, with the 14th seed playing her Round of 64 match and taken all the way by Jil Teichmann. While Gauff proved she was in it to win it from the very beginning, disposing of Teichmann in the first set 6-3, the Swiss talent came back in the second to steal the win from under Gauff’s nose in the 8-6 tiebreaker. Gauff showcased her tenacity in the third, and while she hit a whopping six  double faults in that set alone, her five aces did the trick to come away with the 6-3 6-7 7-6 victory in two hours and 45 minutes.

Joining Gauff in the Round of 32 are German Laura Siegemund, who defeated Monica Niculescu, while two Australia-France battles waged with Frenchwoman Alize Cornet prevailing over Alja Tomljanovic in one encounter, as Australian Destanee Aiava took out the second over Chloe Paquet.

GIPPSLAND TROPHY ROUND OF 32 RESULTS:

[1] Simona Halep (ROM) defeated Anastasia Potapova (RUS) 6-4 6-4
[3] Elina Svitolina (UKR) defeated Andrea Petkovic (GER) 6-1 6-4
[8] Karolina Muchova (CZE) defeated Caty McNally (USA) 6-1 6-1
[9] Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) defeated Anna Schmiedlova (SVK) 4-6 6-4 6-2
Jasmine Paolini (ITA) defeated [10] Qiang Wang (CHN) 3-6 7-5 6-4
[13] Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) defeated Danka Kovinic (MCE) 6-4 7-5

GIPPSLAND TROPHY ROUND OF 64 RESULTS:

[14] Coco Gauff (USA) defeated Jil Teichmann (SUI) 6-3 6-7 7-6
[16] Laura Siegemund (GER) defeated Monica Niculescu (ROM) 7-5 6-4
Destanee Aiava (AUS) defeated Chloe Paquet (FRA) 6-1 4-6 6-4
Alize Cornet (FRA) defeated Alja Tomljanovic (AUS) 5-7 6-1 6-3