Ash Barty plays a forehand on her way to a three-set win over Coco Gauff. Photo: Adelaide International
An impressive come-from-behind win by world number one Ash Barty was the headline act on a busy day for Australian tennis.
Elsewhere, Jordan Thompson and Chris O’Connell faced off in an all-Aussie encounter, while fifth-seeds Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith were bundled out in Adelaide.
Read more about today’s tennis action from Adelaide and Melbourne below.
Adelaide International (WTA)
Playing against 17-year-old world number 19 Coco Gauff, Ash Barty had her work cut out for her early as the teenager took out the first set. The American was able to dominate with strong hitting, particularly on the run, as Barty was overpowered.
Gauff then led 4-2 in the second set, before Barty began her comeback with sensational stroke play in the second set. A mesmerising forehand lob winner ensured the second set would belong to the Wimbledon champion.
Barty would go on to dominate the third set, breaking Gauff three times. Barty was down 0-40 in the final game of the match, before winning five straight points to win, 4-6 7-5 6-1.
Speaking after the match, which lasted two hours and 12 minutes, Barty was pleased with her performance.
“It’s great to come out here, I feel like I played a pretty good quality match,” she said.
“Coco played great, she forced me to hit a lot of balls.”
Barty was also full of praise for the parochial Adelaide crowd at Memorial Drive.
“Once you guys (the crowd) raised your voice a little bit, it was a lot of fun.
“It’s felt like an eternity since I’ve been back playing at home and it’s so nice to hear so many kids and so many Australian accents.
“There is no place I’d rather be right now than here, enjoying my time in Adelaide.”
Alja Tomljanovic will set up an all-Australian quarter-final with Barty if she can defeat former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin tomorrow.
Charlotte Kempenaers-Poczk and Priscilla Hon teamed up to take on Heather Watson and Shelby Rogers, and were down a set before rain halted play. The Aussie pair will look to bounce back when the match resumes on Thursday.
Adelaide International (ATP)
Thanasi Kokkinakis took to the court against American Frances Tiafoe. The first set belonged to the fourth-seeded Tiafoe 6-3 as Kokkinakis looked lacklustre. The Australian looked reenergised in the second set, and came from a break down to take it 7-5 in front of his home fans. The Adelaide local then hit Tiafoe off the court in the final set, and eventually won at midnight, 3-6 7-5 6-1.
In the doubles, fifth seed pairing Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith suffered a shock-loss to Tommy Paul and Marton Fucsovics, going down in a third set super-tiebreaker, 3-6 6-4 (10-7).
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Melbourne Summer Set (ATP)
In an all-Aussie encounter, Chris O’Connell tested 75th-ranked Australian Jordan Thompson by taking the first set in a canter.
Thompson re-asserted the dominance that has him ranked as the fifth-best men’s player in Australia to take the win, 1-6 7-5 6-4.
Thompson produced his trademark fight and aggression, with the Sydneysider sure to be hungry for more wins this summer after last year’s withdrawal from the Australian Open due to a neck injury.
After taking the first set in a tie-breaker, Alexei Popyrin was well on the way to victory against Stefano Travaglia, before the Italian cruised to a 3-0 lead in the second set. All of the momentum was with the 30-year-old, before Popyrin called for a medical timeout to deal with a toe injury. The momentum then swung back towards the Australian, with the 61st-ranked Popyrin taking the next six games to win in dominant fashion, 7-6(5) 6-3.
Following yesterday’s remarkable qualifying victory, there was no such repeat today for Rinky Hijikata, who was dispatched with ease by Maxime Cressy, 6-3 6-0.
Hijikata and O’Connell also teamed up in a doubles clash against German Yannick Maden and his Turkish partner Altuğ Çelikbilek. The Aussie pairing took the first set in aggressive fashion but would eventually lose a super-tiebreak decider, 6-3 3-6 (10-4).
Melbourne Summer Set #1 (WTA)
Ranked more than 100 places below her opponent, Lizette Cabrera took the first set against 69th-ranked Russian Anastasia Potapova before succumbing to a tight three-set loss, 5-7 6-2 6-2.
Meanwhile, 239th-ranked Seone Mendez was defeated in straight sets by Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove, 6-3 6-4. After quickly going down 4-0 in the second set, Mendez showed some fight to break back, but it was the 89th-ranked Dutchwoman who managed to hold on for the win.
During the night session, 274th-ranked Destanee Aiava battled hard in an impressive performance against second seed Simona Halep. The Belgian took the first set 6-4 in an arm-wrestle, before dominating in the second set to win, 6-4 6-2.
The Aussie women were also present in the doubles, with Gabriella Da Silva Fick and Olivia Tjandramulia gallant against the quality Italian pairing of Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani. The Australian pairing eventually went down, 6-4 6-2.
Melbourne Summer Set #2 (WTA)
Samantha Stosur played well but it was her Chinese opponent Lin Zhu who took the win, 7-6(5) 7-6(5). Stosur, currently in her final month of singles tennis before retirement, missed a set-point opportunity in the first set, and led 4-2 in the second set, before the 27-year-old Zhu put the hammer down and took the match in a tight encounter.
Elsewhere, Astra Sharma was unlucky as she fell to 88th-ranked Swedish star Rebecca Peterson, 6-1 3-6 6-2.
Earlier, Spaniard Nuria Parrizas Diaz moved into the second round with a victory over Ellen Perez, 6-3 6-0.
In the doubles, Alexandra Osborne and Taylah Preston were defeated in under an hour by Katarzyna Kawa and Aliona Bolsova.
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