The 2014 Brisbane International got underway this morning in telling fashion, with a series of comebacks highlighting the opening round of women’s qualifying, which saw all three Australian wildcards victorious.
Local favourite Ashleigh Barty relished her time on the Brisbane courts, defeating higher ranked Turkish opponent Cagla Buyukakcay 7-5 6-7(4) 6-3.
Despite letting go of her second-set lead, an early break in the third and a home advantage gave the 17-year-old the edge she needed to get on top of the match.
“I think early in the third, when I got that break, was kind of an energy booster for me and I was just able to establish myself a little bit better in that third set,” Barty said.
“The nice thing about playing three sets is I get plenty of court time, so I’m looking forward to my next match and we’ll see how it goes.”
“It’s nice to be sleeping in my own bed this week and driving my own car, so it’s nice to be at home. Mum can cook me my meals and I don’t have to put too much stress on myself.”
In a match separated by a few choice points, Australian wildcard Jarmila Gajdosova held her nerve against Croatian veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 4-6 6-4 6-4.
The injury-free Gajdosova – a quarterfinalist here in 2011 – battled through wavering rhythm to secure the match, continuing the tournament she hopes will get her back on track for a strong performance at the Australian Open.
“It was a very fast match; there wasn’t much to play. I think we both served well and we both returned well, so it was pretty much just who could sustain that throughout the match,” she said.
“[My form’s] a bit iffy, but it’s getting there and I’m getting better. I still need a lot of practice, so I try to string as much time on court as I can.”
The young guns proved their worth in the heat, with promising 18-year-old American Victoria Duval battling through the second set to overcome the experienced Russian Vera Dushevina 1-6 7-5 6-0.
Rockhampton-born wildcard Storm Sanders followed suit in her Brisbane International debut, putting a 6-0 first-set loss behind her to secure victory 0-6 6-0 6-3 against Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu, ranked 114 spots higher than the 19-year-old Queenslander.
“She played a good first set and I was making a few errors, so I just tried to tighten up all my points and make her play a little bit more,” Sanders said.
“I’m a Queenslander at heart living in Western Australia; it’s my first time here and it was nice to get the win.”
Third-seed Su-Wei Hsieh was the first winner of the tournament, making short work of Olga Puchkova in a 6-2 6-0 victory, while fourth-seed Kiki Bertens overcame Danka Kovinic 6-3 7-5.
Hsieh, who reached the fourth round of the 2008 Australian Open and won a Wimbledon doubles title this year, will be a challenging opponent for Sanders in the second round of qualifying tomorrow.
Gajdosova will take on seventh seed Brazilian Teliana Pereira, who overcame America Madison Brengle 7-6(12) 6-0 in their first-round match today.
Barty faces sixth seed Julia Glushko after the Israeli defeated Yulia Putintseva 7-6(3) 6-1 today.
The second-seeded South African Chanelle Sheepers and Dutch youngster Arantxa Rus were other first-round winners.
Men’s qualifying begins on Saturday, gates open at 9:45 am and entry is free.