Australian Open: Halep edges Kanepi. Osaka, Pliskova and Svitolina advance
The 4th seed and the US Open champion Naomi Osaka enjoyed a solid day at the office at the start of her Melbourne campaign, ousting Magda Linette 6-4, 6-2 in 58 minutes after an excellent performance on both serve and return. The Pole won just six points on the return, including one break she scored, but the winner was never in doubt after four breaks that the Japanese claimed, hitting 30 winners and just 16 unforced errors to overpower the opponent completely. They traded breaks in games three and four before Naomi grabbed another at 2-2, sealing the set with three straight holds at love.
Osaka never looked back, controlling the pace with her impressive groundstrokes and marching towards the win with two breaks of serve in set number two, happy with the way she performed after that frustrating loss to Tsurenko in Brisbane when she played well below her abilities. Struggling with a back injury, Simona Halep had failed to win a match since August and she was on the verge of defeat today as well, prevailing against Kaia Kanepi 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and 11 minutes to make a winning start.
The last year's runner-up was a set and a break down before she managed to conquer the second set with a late break, sending the match into a decider where she played much better to avoid an early exit and stay on the title course. Brisbane champion Karolina Pliskova is still undefeated in 2019, advancing into the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 triumphs in 69 minutes, losing serve once but controlling the pace of the match with a solid display on the return that delivered four breaks. The 6th seed Elina Svitolina required just an hour to dismiss Viktorija Golubic 6-1, 6-2 thanks to five breaks she made, hitting 25 winners and 20 unforced errors to rule the court and send qualifier out in no time at all. An 18-year-old Dayana Yastremska notched her first Grand Slam win, toppling Sam Stosur 7-5, 6-2 in an hour and 18 minutes, facing just two break points in the entire match and seizing her opportunities on the return to seal the deal in straight sets.
First round results:
Alize Cornet (FRA) vs Lara Arruabarrena (ESP) 6-2 6-2 [7]Karolina Pliskova (CZE) vs [Q]Karolina Muchova (CZE) 6-3 6-2 [6]Elina Svitolina (UKR) vs [Q]Viktorija Golubic (SUI) 6-1 6-2 Margaryta Gasparian (RUS) vs [Q]Lin Zhu (CHN) 4-6 6-2 6-2 [Q]Iga Swiatek (POL) vs Ana Bogdan (ROU) 6-3 3-6 6-4 Dayana Yastremska (UKR) vs Samantha Stosur (AUS) 7-5 6-2 Sofia Kenin (USA) vs Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) 6-3 3-6 7-5 Shuai Zhang (CHN) vs [26]Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 6-2 4-6 6-2 [1]Simona Halep (ROU) vs Kaia Kanepi (EST) 6-7(2) 6-4 6-2 [4]Naomi Osaka (JPN) vs Magda Linette (POL) 6-4 6-2
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2FBSuIi
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