ADELAIDE: Petra Kvitova won the battle of Wimbledon champions on Monday in Adelaide as she outserved Elena Rybakina — who has now crashed out early in two tournaments leading into next week’s Australian Open.

Two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova beat the current All England Club champion 6-3, 7-5 in round one, exacting a measure of revenge.

The 23rd-ranked Russian-born Rybakina won their first head-to-head meeting last year in Ostrava.

World number 16 Kvitova never faced a break point in 86 minutes at Adelaide International II, while breaking Rybakina at the tailend of each set to move safely through.

There are two ATP-WTA Adelaide Internationals this month, with Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka winning the titles in week one.

Former world number one Garbine Muguruza fell at the first hurdle again on Monday, losing to Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4, after being beaten by 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in the opening Adelaide round last week.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, finalist at the 2021 French Open, also toppled out, falling 7-5, 6-4 to Swiss qualifier Jil Teichmann.

It was the Russian’s first match in eight months after ending her 2022 season in May with a recurring knee injury.

After losing in round one of the Adelaide International last week, there was no repeat for American Danielle Collins, with the 2022 Australian Open finalist defeating Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 6-4.

World number one Iga Swiatek and third-ranked Jessica Pegula had been due to play this week but both pulled out after their exploits at the United Cup with Poland and the US, respectively.

In the men’s draw, Britain’s Jack Draper eased past Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets while American Mackenzie McDonald outlasted another Briton, Dan Evans, 7-5, 7-5.

KOKKINAKIS BEGINS TITLE DEFENCE

Meanwhile, local Thanasi Kokkinakis opened his title defence at the Adelaide International 2 with a battling 6-0, 6-7(5), 7-5 victory over Alexei Popyrin in an all-Australian clash.

Kokkinakis blew through the first set with little resistance from his compatriot, converting all three break points that came his way, but faltered in the tiebreaker of the second.

The crowd rallied behind their hometown hero towards the end of the match, and Kokkinakis responded by sending down five aces in the deciding set to secure victory.Kokkinakis will next face Russian top seed Andrey Rublev, the world number eight, in the second round on Wednesday.

French journeyman Constant Lestienne wrote a small footnote in the history of men’s tennis on Monday when he won the first ATP Tour match in New Zealand for three years in the opening round of the Auckland Open.

Now an Australian Open warm-up, the Auckland Open had been played every year since 1956 until New Zealand’s lockdown in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2021 and 2022 editions.

Brushing off a hip issue that needed treatment in the first set, Lestienne wasted little time in dismissing Argentine Pedro Cachin 6-3, 6-1 to take a place in the second round.

World number three Casper Ruud, the top seed, received a bye through the first round, as did local favourite Cam Norrie, the British world number 14, who was raised in New Zealand.

Norwegian Ruud could move to the top of the world rankings over the next three weeks in the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, who pulled out of the year’s first Grand Slam with a leg injury.

Belgium’s David Goffin beat Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-3 6-4, breaking the big-serving fifth-seed on four occasions.Britain’s Jack Draper eased past Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets while American Mackenzie McDonald outlasted another Briton Dan Evans 7-5, 7-5.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2023