Two seeded players lose in first round at the Adelaide International
Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil hits a forehand shot to Iga Swiatek of Poland during the United Cup tennis tournament in Perth, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023. Credit: AP/Trevor Collens
ADELAIDE, Australia, — Former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova and Beatriz Haddad Maia lost their first-round matches Monday at the Adelaide International.
Qualifier Anna Kalinskaya beat 2021 Roland Garros winner and No. 4-seeded Krejcikova 7-5, 3-6, 7-5. Kalinskaya had three match points on Krejcikova’s serve when leading 6-5 in the deciding set and converted the third for the win.
Former French Open finalist Pavlyuchenkova breezed through qualifying and beat fifth-seeded Haddad Maia 6-3, 6-4.
The joint WTA-ATP tournament is the biggest tune-up event this week for the Australian Open, which begins on Sunday at Melbourne Park.
In another first-round Adelaide result, Ana Bogdan beat Katie Boulter, who represented Britain at last week's United Cup tournament, 6-3, 6-4.
Elena Rybakina, who won Sunday’s Brisbane International, and Jessica Pegula are the top women’s seeds. Neither played Monday.
Tommy Paul is the top-seeded player in the ATP portion of the tournament. In a first-round result Monday, Jack Draper beat fifth-seeded Sebastian Baez 6-1, 6-3.
Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan poses with the trophy after she won her final match against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. Credit: AP/Tertius Pickard
MEHRTENS ADVANCES AT HOBART
At the Hobart International WTA tournament, top-seeded Elise Mehrtens, who won the tournament in 2017 and 2018, beat 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins 6-2, 6-3.
”(Collins is) definitely a tough opponent in the first round. She can definitely strike the ball very hard,” Mertens said. “The weather was in my advantage, a little bit more wind.”
The Belgian player next faces Slovakia’s Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova, who beat fellow qualifier Maria Camila Osorio Serrano 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5.
