The 2016 Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber was eliminated at the start of this year’s edition of the tournament. The German lost by 2-0 (6:4, 6:3) to the Estonian Kaia Kanepi.
Angelique Kerber was in a great position to win at least the second set in the match, in which she led with a break by 3:2, but the experienced Estonian Kaia Kanepi made a turnaround. Earlier in the first half, the Estonian took the lead with 4:1, Angelique Kerber equalized at 4:4, but then Kaia Kanepi again tried for 6:4.
In the second round Kaia Kanepi will play with the Czech Marie Bouzkova, and for Angelique Kerber remains the disappointment of the second consecutive elimination in the first round in Melbourne.
The second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus was close to dropping out of the Ao 2022 in the first round. She lost the first set and was a break behind her opponent – Australian Storm Sanders. However, she managed to make a turnaround and win with 2-1 (5:7, 6:3, 6:2).
Aryna Sabalenka had problems at the beginning of the match when she started making double faults from service and quickly fell behind with the 1:4 game, after losing all three service games. The Belarusian still managed to return to the set, equalizing for 5:5, but immediately after that, she suffered another break, which allowed Storm Sanders to take the lead after 7:5.
The Australian, who is 128th in the world rankings, led by 3:1 at the beginning of the second set, but then Aryna Sabalenka gave up and this immediately reversed the course of the match. Aryna Sabalenka won nine consecutive games and soon after took the match after 6:3, 6:2 in the second and third sets.
In the next round, Aryna Sabalenka will play versus Chinese Wang Xinyu, who won in two sets over the American Ann Li.
However, Danielle Collins gave cause for joy to the American fans. The 27th-seeded managed in just 27 minutes with her compatriot Caroline Dolehide after 2-0 (6:1, 6:3).
