Second seed Ons Jabeur crashed out within the second spherical of the Australian Open after an error-strewn show in a 6-1 5-7 6-1 loss to former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova.
Jabeur, who stormed up the rankings final yr after runs to the finals at Wimbledon and the US Open, had complained of a knee downside after her opening victory at Melbourne Park and appeared out of kinds for a lot of the loss in opposition to Vondrousova.
The Tunisian sprayed 50 unforced errors and had her serve damaged eight instances within the contest.
Jabeur exits Australian Open
The second seed has failed to succeed in the spherical of 32 within the girls’s singles primary draw on the Australian Open for the second time within the Open Era (Simona Halep in 2016 who misplaced in R1 to Shuai Zhang).
There have been solely flashes of the sensible racket expertise which have made her such a favorite on the WTA Tour as Vondrousova matched all the pieces Jabeur threw at her on a cold night on Rod Laver Arena.
Jabeur broke her opponent when she was serving for the match for the primary time however Vondrousova broke straight again and moved on to a third-round assembly with 17-year-old fellow Czech Linda Fruhvirtova.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu tweeted she is “again to it” following her Melbourne exit to Coco Gauff on Wednesday.
Fourth seed Caroline Garcia stormed via after a powerful 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 win over 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez in slightly below two hours on Rod Laver Arena.
Garcia fought again from 2-5 within the first set tie-break and saved a set level within the second with an ace earlier than advancing.
Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka swatted apart Shelby Rogers 6-3 6-1 because the big-hitting Belarusian, who warmed up for the yr’s first main with the Adelaide title, discovered her rhythm after an error-prone begin to the match.
“She at all times performs quick and places me below stress. I anticipated an important degree from her and that is why I needed to keep centered to win this in two units,” mentioned Sabalenka, who subsequent meets her former doubles companion Elise Mertens after the Belgian twenty sixth seed comfortably noticed off Hobart winner Lauren Davis 6-4 6-3.
Katie Volynets scored the largest win of her profession with a 6-4 2-6 6-2 upset of ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova, and have become the primary American qualifier to succeed in the ladies’s singles third spherical in Melbourne since Lindsay Davenport in 1993.
“I actually have the chills,” Volynets mentioned. “Suddenly, you get match level and it is like ‘wow I’ve acquired match level in opposition to the ninth seed’. You simply begin going for it and let no matter occurs occur.”
Former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova misplaced solely seven factors within the first set because the Czech thirtieth seed beat Yulia Putintseva 6-0 7-5 to advance.
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Sam Stosur will retire after the Australian Open
A tearful Sam Stosur obtained a standing ovation from the gang after dropping within the first spherical of the ladies’s doubles with Alize Cornet. The 38-year-old main winner will retire after the Australian Open.
Stosur nonetheless has the combined doubles to come back, the place she’s going to companion fellow Australian Matt Ebden.
“It’s a bit bittersweet however thanks all for popping out in the present day. It’s been actually particular,” mentioned Stosur. “I like taking part in, I like competing. But you get to some extent the place the opposite issues turn out to be somewhat tougher. I’ve beloved with the ability to do all the pieces I’ve been in a position to do.”
