Karolina Pliskova

The program in Melbourne was interrupted for several hours by hot weather, the only exception being the duels that were played under a cloudy roof. The action will also include Markéta Vondroušová, who will face the American Alison Riskeová-Amritrajová, and Tomáš Macháč will face the world number three Norwegian Casper Ruud.

Pliskova’s duel with Wang Si-yü took place under the cloudy roof of the Margaret Court Arena. Plíšková could rely on 100% service and broke her opponent twice in each set. She dominated the match in 65 minutes and made a successful comeback at the Australian Open after a hand injury last year. Apart from this absence, she has progressed to at least Round 3 in her previous seven starts in Australia.

“The first round is never easy. I am satisfied with the way I played it and I am also happy with the result,” Plíšková wrote on Twitter.

Linda Fruhvirt did not hesitate

The winner of last year’s tournament in Chennai, Fruhvirtová, had an excellent start and gave Fourlis the “canary” in the first set, six years older. In the second set, she lost her serve three times, but thanks to four breaks, she managed to take the duel to the next stage.

“I think it was a good match from my point of view. I’m happy for the win, because the first round is always tricky. I’m glad I didn’t stay too long in that heat,” Fruhvirtová told Radiožurnál.

The Czech tennis player became the youngest European to win a match in the regular part of the Australian Open since 2019, when current world number one Iza Šwiateková from Poland did it. To improve the Grand Slam maximum, Fruhvirtová will face another Australian, Kimberly Birrell, who eliminated the tournament’s thirty-first ranked Estonian Kaia Kanepiová.

The 28-year-old Martincová did not win a single break against Sabalenková. She herself lost serve three times and lost the match in one hour and ten minutes. She thus failed to follow up on last year’s progress to the 2nd round.

“Aryna dictates the game a lot. She has an excellent serve, goes for returns and wants to have maximum pressure from the first three balls. She doesn’t want to let you play at all, she risks everything and overall it’s a lot about her. In the first set, unfortunately, I missed my return by a few centimeters. I need to get into a rhythm, which (Sabalenková) didn’t allow me,” Martincová told the Tennis World website.

One of the favorites of the tournament, Sabalenková, who defeated Linda Nosková in the final of the first tournament in Adelaide, did not lose a set even in her fifth match this year.