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ADELAIDE: Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova pulled out of the Adelaide International with a hip injury Tuesday just days before the Australian Open, as Jelena Ostapenko set up a clash against Caroline Garcia.
Czech world number seven Vondrousova began her season at the United Cup, beating Serbia’s Olga Danilovic and losing to China’s Zheng Qinwen.
She was seeded three in Adelaide and due to play her first-round match on Tuesday evening. But the WTA said she had withdrawn, citing a hip injury. It was not clear how serious the problem was.
Former French Open winner Ostapenko, the Latvian sixth seed and world number 12, needed three sets to get past Sorana Cirstea 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, enjoying a modicum of revenge after the Romanian beat her at Wimbledon last year.
She lost serve twice in the first set before waking up.
“I was sleeping in the first set, I’m not really a morning person,” she said after a morning start at Memorial Drive. “It took me time to wake up and get into the match. I’m glad I managed to win it.”
Ostapenko recovered to win six games out of seven and reach 3-1 in the final set. The Latvian raced into a 5-2 lead but was broken serving for the match. She blew two match points at 5-3 before sealing victory with her sixth ace.
“I like to play in Australia,” the 2023 Australian Open quarter-finalist said. “Conditions are good for me. Sometimes I get too worked up but then I calm down and play better.”
She will next play former world number four Garcia, now ranked 20th, who also avoided an upset, coming from a break down in the final set to defeat Australian wildcard Taylah Preston 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Germany’s Laura Siegemund, part of the country’s winning United Cup team, dismissed seventh seed Liudmila Samsonova 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 6-4.
Eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova also progressed, but former world number one Karolina Pliskova lost 6-2, 6-1 to qualifier Katerina Siniakova in an all-Czech match-up.
STEPHENS OUSTED IN HOBART
At the WTA Hobart International, Sloane Stephens’s Australian Open buildup suffered a blow after the former US Open champion lost 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) to China’s Yuan Yue in the first round.
The duo slugged it out for nearly three hours before the Chinese world number 73 secured a memorable victory.
Having split the first two sets, Yuan broke Stephens when the American was serving for the match at 6-5. Stephens led 5-4 in the tiebreak but could not hold on to her advantage.
“I’m very happy and excited to win,” a beaming Yuan said. “She’s a Grand Slam champion. At home, I’d [often] watch her play on the TV. I’m happy to be here (playing against her),” she said of her opponent.
Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin began her campaign at the Melbourne Park warm-up event with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Greet Minnen of Belgium.
Kenin, who saved all three break points she faced, will meet Daria Saville for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu withdrew from a charity match in Melbourne on Tuesday, which was part of her Australian Open buildup, the BBC reported.
Her original opponent Naomi Osaka had pulled out earlier and was replaced by Donna Vekic for the contest, which was cancelled.
Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2024
