Aryna Sabalenka and Caroline Garcia advanced to the second round of the Australian Open and recorded easy victories in just over an hour. The two ended last season on a high after playing each other at the WTA Finals, where Garcia triumphed, finishing the year in the Top 5.
That momentum continued after the New Year and Aryna Sabalenka won the title at the WTA 500 Adelaide International 1 without dropping a set. At the Australian Open, the former world’s number two overcame 74th-ranked Tereza Martincova by 2-0 (6:1, 6:4) in just one hour and 9 minutes. So she started the year with a 5-0 record for the third time in the last five seasons. The Belarusian has also won her last 10 matches in the first round of Grand Slam tournaments.
Aryna Sabalenka‘s typical power game was bolstered by her extraordinary tenacity on break points – she converted all five she faced. Aryna Sabalenka had to fend off four break points at 1:1 in the first set, but then she imposed complete control over what was happening on the court and did not lose a single game until the end. There was a similar scenario at 1:0 in the second half, when Aryna Sabalenka saved Tereza Martincova’s last chance to break through. She then made a 2:1 break herself en route to the eventual victory.
“The only thing I can say is that I work really hard. I am physically and mentally ready to go far in Melbourne. I hope I will give my best on the court and play many more matches here”, said the 24-year-old Aryna Sabalenka, who is keen to improve her performance in the first Grand Slam of the year, having failed in the previous two editions she was not making it past the fourth round.
Caroline Garcia has also had a successful start to her participation at the Australian Open. The French beat Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov by 2-0 (6:3 6:0) in 65 minutes. That result was in stark contrast to Caroline Garcia’s performance in Melbourne 12 months ago, when she was ranked outside the world’s top 70 and lost to fellow qualifier Hailey Baptiste in the first round.
The world No 4 had an up-and-coming performance in the second half of 2022, winning four titles, reaching the semi-finals of the US Open and winning the WTA Women’s Finals.
After her easy victory at Rod Laver Arena, Caroline Garcia will play US Open 2021 runner-up Leylah Annie Fernandez in the second round. The 20-year-old Canadian beat Australian Open 2022 quarterfinalist Alize Cornet by 2-0 (7:5 6:2).
Karolína Pliskova passed the first round after an easy victory with 2-0 (6:1, 6:3) over the Chinese Xiu Wang.
The former world number 1 Garbine Muguruza crashed out of the Australian Open. The 2020 Australian Open runner-up lost by 1-2 (6:3, 6:7, 1:6) to Belgian Elise Mertens.