Barbora Krejcikova set up a Round 2 meeting with No.5 seed Daria Kasatkina thanks to a 6-2, 7-6(3) victory over 2022 finalist Alison Riske-Amritraj on Tuesday at the Adelaide International 2.
The resurgent Czech won two titles and nine of her last 10 singles matches to end 2022, and was made to work to win her 2023 season debut in more than two hours.
Match management: Krejcikova won the last four games of the opening set, and rebounded well to secure the match in straight sets after seeing a match point slip by a 6-2, 5-4.
From a mini-break behind in the second-set tiebreak, she won five straight points to wrap up victory.
2023 liftoff ✈️@BKrejcikova gets past Riske-Amritraj 6-2, 7-6 to set up a scintillating second round date with Kasatkina.#AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/YoPq2dA7Om
— wta (@WTA) January 10, 2023
Stat of the match: Krejcikova hit three times Riske-Amritraj's total of winners, 21 to 7.
Did you know? Riske-Amritraj lost Sunday to Anna Kalinskaya in the final qualifying round, but earned a berth in the main draw as a lucky loser as a result of multiple withdrawals -- including that of Madison Keys, who beat her to win last year's WTA 250 title in Adelaide.
Day 2 Roundup:
Badosa serves past Kontaveit
No.9 seed Paula Badosa enjoyed a perfect start to her Adelaide campaign, defeating Anett Kontaveit 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. Badosa put on a serving clinic to keep the Estonian at bay, winning 77% of her first-serve points and 76% of her second-serve points. The win sets up a second-round showdown with Kaia Kanepi.
Highlights: Badosa d. Kontaveit
Anisimova scores first main-draw win since August
One of five lucky losers in action on Tuesday was Amanda Anisimova, and the 21-year-old American made the most of her second chance. She reached Round 2 with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Liudmila Samsonova.
Highlights: Anisimova def. Samsonova
After holding a 5-1 first-set lead, and seven set points, in a Round 2 defeat to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka last week at the Adelaide International 1, Samsonova also let a lead slip in her first meeting with Anisimova.
She led 4-1, with two breaks, in the first set, but never reached set point. Anisimova turned the match all the way around in 86 minutes, thanks in part to 22 winners to just 15 unforced errors.
Ball striking on point 🙌@AnisimovaAmanda | #AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/E9CxWgcJGz
— wta (@WTA) January 10, 2023
The victory is Anisimova's first main-draw win since August. She'll next face Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in Round 2.
Zheng Qinwen comeback sinks Rogers
From a set and a break behind, Zheng Qinwen downed Shelby Rogers, the third American lucky loser in action on Tuesday.
Zheng trailed 6-4, 2-1 in her first-ever meeting against Rogers, but wrestled momentum away at the midway point of the second set and never looked back. She won the last eight games, and finished off a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 comeback in 2 hours, 24 minutes.
Zheng has logged just over eight hours on court in three matches so far in the tournament, including a 3 hour, 36-minute marathon triumph against Anastasia Potapova to reach the main draw.
She is the next foe for No.12 seed Petra Kvitova, who ousted Elena Rybakina in a match between Wimbledon champions on Monday.
Kudermetova comeback stops Azarenka
No.6 seed Veronika Kudermetova closed out the day session with a 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 win over former No.1 Victoria Azarenka to advance to the Round of 16.
Highlights: Kudermetova d. Azarenka
After being broken three times in the opening set, Kudermetova did not face a break point for the remainder of the match. After taking the second-set tiebreak to force a deciding set, the World No.9 broke Azarenka for just the second time in the match for a 5-4 lead and closed out the 2-hour and 58-minute win.