Second seed Ons Jabeur sealed a hard-fought victory over Tamara Zidansek, claiming the final six games to make it through to the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne, while there were wins for Caroline Garcia, Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka
Tuesday 17 January 2023 14:38, UK
Ons Jabeur survived a scare against Tamara Zidansek to make it through to the second round of the Australian Open with a 7-6 (10-8) 4-6 6-1 victory.
World No 2 Jabeur, who struggled through the opening set before dropping the second, claimed the final six games to seal victory against the Slovenian.
"It was a tough match honestly," said the Tunisian. "Just not the way I wanted to play. But I kept fighting. Frustrating to lose the second set but I think I got the time to think and talk to myself more. The third set was really great."
Jabeur struggled with a back problem during the warm-up tournament in Adelaide and had strapping on her right knee here.
She said: "It's not a big injury but sometimes it might bother me. I try to take it one day at a time. I'm going to challenge myself and see if I cannot play 100 per cent."
With the temperature rising, fourth seed Caroline Garcia cruised into the second round with a 6-3 6-0 win over Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov, while Elise Mertens fought back from a set down to hold off 2020 finalist and former world No 1 Garbine Muguruza 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-1.
Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka wasted no time in her first match at the tournament with a convincing 6-1 6-4 victory over Tereza Martincova.
The Belarusian will next face American Shelby Rogers, who beat qualifier Arianne Hartono 6-4 6-3.
Camila Giorgi also spent as little time as possible on Court Six as she raced into the second round with a 6-0 6-1 humbling of Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in just 56 minutes.
Belinda Bencic, who ended last season by leading Switzerland to the Billie Jean King Cup crown, eased to a 6-1 6-2 victory over Viktoriya Tomova.
Giorgi has denied obtaining a false Covid-19 vaccination certificate in order to compete in tournaments.
Italian media reported last month that a doctor, Daniela Grillone, had named the 31-year-old as one of the people who came to her seeking fake documentation.
Speaking for the first time about the allegations, Giorgi insisted she had done nothing wrong.
"The doctor has been investigated and she had troubles this year with the law a few times," said Giorgi, who is ranked 70th.
"I did all my vaccination in different places. So the trouble is hers. Not me. So with that, I'm very calm.
"She [said] my name, of course, but there is more than 300 people who she give the names."
Several countries on the tennis circuit required players to be vaccinated to enter in 2021 and 2022, including Australia and the USA.
Giorgi admitted one of her vaccinations had been administered by Grillone and that she had used paperwork given by the doctor.
But she denied deliberately seeking out false documents, saying: "No, not at all."
Giorgi, who reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2018, appeared not to understand when asked if she had attempted to check on the veracity of her vaccination or received an extra dose.
She will take on former world No 26 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova next after the Slovakian qualifier ousted 21st seed Martina Trevisan 6-3 6-2.
Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 19th seed, was four minutes quicker in winning her first-round tie against Belgian Ysaline Bonaventure 6-2 6-1 on Court 13.
Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 US Open runner-up, earned her first main-draw win in Melbourne after beating last year's quarter-finalist Alize Cornet 7-5 6-2.
Home favourite Kimberly Birrell, who was granted a main-draw spot after Venus Williams pulled out, produced a stunning comeback to beat 31st seed Kaia Kanepi 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-1.
