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Australian Open day two highlights

Australian Open
Sofia Kenin kickstarted her title defence with a 7-5 6-4 win over Australian wildcard Maddison Inglis

Highlights of day two of the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park on Tuesday. Times local (GMT +11):

1835 SHERIF MAKES HISTORY FOR EGYPT

Qualifier Mayar Sherif became the first Egyptian woman to win a main draw match at a Grand Slam with a 7-5 7-5 win over French qualifier Chloe Paquet.

1823 PLISKOVA STORMS INTO SECOND ROUND

Czech sixth seed and 2019 semi-finalist Karolina Pliskova made short work of Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, winning 6-0 6-2 in just 47 minutes.

1805 DE MINAUR WINS IN STRAIGHT SETS

Australian 21st seed Alex de Minaur moves into the second round with a 7-5 6-1 6-1 win over American Tennys Sandgren.

1735 NADAL BEATS DJERE

Spanish second seed Rafa Nadal defeated Serbia’s Laslo Djere 6-3 6-4 6-1 to reach the second round. The world number two will face the winner of two qualifiers — American Michael Mmoh or Viktor Troicki — for a place in the third round.

1729 BAUTISTA AGUT CRASHED OUT

Moldova’s Radu Albot, ranked 85, knocked out Spanish 12th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the opening round with a 6-7(1) 6-0 6-4 7-6(5) win.

1721 GOFFIN KNOCKED OUT BY LOCAL WILD CARD

Belgian 13th seed David Goffin crashed out in the opening round following a 6-3 4-6 7-6(4) 6-7(6) 3-6 loss to Australian wild card Alexei Popyrin.

1640 MEDVEDEV CRUISES PAST POSPISIL

Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev advanced to the second round with a 6-2 6-2 6-4 victory over Canada’s Vasek Pospisil. It was the world number four’s 15th consecutive win.

1635 MLADENOVIC BEATS SAKKARI

World number 52 Kristina Mladenovic overcame a mid-match wobble to beat Greek 20th seed Maria Sakkari 6-2 0-6 6-3 and set up a second-round meeting with Nao Hibino of Japan.

1505 WATSON INTO ROUND TWO

Britain’s Heather Watson reached the second round with a 7-6(4) 7-6(3) victory over Czech Republic’s Kristyna Pliskova. Watson, who hit 37 winners and seven aces, will face either Anett Kontaveit or Aliaksandra Sasnovich next.

1500 SVITOLINA SETS UP GAUFF CLASH

Elina Svitolina won a second set tiebreak to squeeze past Czech Marie Bouzkova 6-3 7-6(5). Ukrainian Svitolina, the fifth seed, will face Coco Gauff in the second round after the American beat Jil Teichmann of Switzerland 6-3 6-2.

1440 BENCIC THROUGH IN THREE SETS

Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic battled past American Lauren Davis 6-3 4-6 6-1 to reach the second round. Bencic struck eight aces and 36 winners but has plenty of room for improvement, making 47 unforced errors.

Bencic will next face Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova.

1430 AZARENKA MAKES EARLY EXIT

Victoria Azarenka, the 12th seed, was dumped out in the first round after being beaten 7-5 6-4 by American main draw debutant Jessica Pegula.

Azarenka, who made 25 unforced errors and seven double faults, needed a medical timeout midway through the second set after appearing to have trouble breathing.

1355 RUBLEV ROMPS INTO ROUND TWO

Men’s seventh seed Andrey Rublev of Russia cruised into the second round with a routine 6-3 6-3 6-4 victory over Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann.

Rublev, who sent down 17 aces and hit 35 winners, will face Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro for a place in the third round.

1345 BADOSA FAILS SAMSONOVA TEST

Spaniard Paula Badosa, the only confirmed case of COVID-19 among the playing group at the Australian Open, was beaten in the first round 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 7-5 by Russian qualifier Liudmila Samsonova.

Samsonova sent down six aces and hit a total of 49 winners to edge the tight contest and set up a second round match with 14th seed Garbine Muguruza.

1245 KENIN’S TITLE DEFENCE UP AND RUNNING

Sofia Kenin kickstarted her title defence with a 7-5 6-4 win over Australian wildcard Maddison Inglis. Kenin will meet either Kaia Kanepi or Anastasija Sevastova in the next round.

MUGURUZA MARCHES INTO SECOND ROUND

Garbine Muguruza’s bid for a first Australian Open title began with a bang as she trounced Russian lucky loser Margarita Gasparyan 6-4 6-0 in the opening match at Margaret Court.

Twice Grand Slam champion Muguruza reached the final in Melbourne Park last year but lost to surprise package Sofia Kenin.

1110 PLAY GETS UNDERWAY

Play got underway under brilliant sunshine at Melbourne Park with the temperature hovering around 19 degrees Celsius (66.2°F).

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