Both a curtain call and a debut captured attention on Day 1 of Australian Open qualifying. Former doubles World No.1 Hsieh Su-Wei played the final singles match of her career, falling 7-6(3), 6-4 to No.11 seed Anna Bondar. Not long beforehand, junior World No.1 Alina Korneeva had been victorious in her first ever Grand Slam qualifying match, ousting No.31 seed Sachia Vickery 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.

Hsieh, 38, was playing her 346th singles tournament, having started her career with a 31-match winning streak back in 2001. The Chinese Taipei star went on to win three Hologic WTA Tour singles titles and peak at a career-high of No.23, and reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 2021 Australian Open. On New Year's Eve, she announced that this year's edition would be her final singles tournament, writing:

"For the singles, the final set goal - Grand Slam Final Eight, has been done! Time to end this fantasy journey."

Hsieh came up with a sprinkling of her signature idiosyncratic magic in her final match -- a casual drop shot winner from seemingly way out of position was a highlight -- but was unable to close out a 5-3 first-set lead. Former World No.50 Bondar sealed the tiebreak with a drop shot winner of her own, then kept Hsieh at bay in the second with steely serving.

Hsieh, who earned a nomination for Comeback Player of the Year last season after winning both the Roland Garros and Wimbledon doubles titles, will continue her career in that discipline. She will bid to add to her collection of six doubles major crowns alongside Elise Mertens in Melbourne.

Six years after Hsieh's pro debut, Korneeva was born. The 16-year-old was crowned junior champion at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros last year -- defeating Mirra Andreeva in the final of the former -- and made her tour-level debut in Hong Kong last October, where she reached the second round as a qualifier. Her return to Melbourne this week marks just her 18th pro tournament.

Against Vickery, No.180-ranked Korneeva had to come from a break down twice in the third set, and ultimately sealed a gruelling victory with a forehand winner -- her 31st of the match. She will next face China's Ma Ye-Xin, who marked her own Grand Slam qualifying debut with a 7-5, 6-2 defeat of Miriam Bulgaru.

Brenda Fruhvirtova, Bejlek join teenage charge

Korneeva wasn't the only teenager making waves in Melbourne. No.10 seed Brenda Fruhvirtova, bidding to qualify for the second year running, made a solid start to defeat wild card Petra Hule 6-4, 6-4. The 16-year-old Czech won her first WTA main-draw match last week in Auckland over Anna Blinkova.

Fruhvirtova's compatriot, No.22 seed Sara Bejlek, also hit the ground running with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Himeno Sakatsume. No.134-ranked Bejlek, 17, has successfully come through qualifying at three previous majors, including the Australian Open last year, and claimed her first WTA 125 title in Colina two months ago.

Australian wild cards Melisa Ercan, 18, and Talia Gibson, 19, also thrilled their home fans with upsets of higher-ranked opponents. Türkiye-born World No.511 Ercan held off Yuriko Lily Miyazaki 6-4, 7-6(5) in her tour-level qualifying debut, while No.229-ranked Gibson overcame former World No.68 Andreea Mitu 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.

Gibson will next face Fruhvirtova, while Ercan takes on Wei Sijia. The Chinese 20-year-old, ranked No.236, upset No.28 seed Viktoria Hruncakova 6-3, 6-2 on her Grand Slam qualifying debut.

No.5 seed Erika Andreeva took the number of teenage victors on Day 1 to six. The 19-year-old raced past wild card Kaylah McPhee 6-1, 6-2 and will next face Polina Kudermetova.

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Riera maintains form, Jeanjean upsets Rodionova

Fresh off causing a splash by making the last 16 of Brisbane, Argentinian No.25 seed Julia Riera continued her strong start to the year with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Stacey Fung. Last week, the 21-year-old Riera upset Ekaterina Alexandrova to notch her first Top 30 win in only the third tour-level event of her career.

Now at a career-high of No.123, Riera found 31 winners to Fung's 10 to advance on her Melbourne debut, and will next face 2020 Roland Garros junior champion Elsa Jacquemot.

However, another surprise Brisbane package fell at the first hurdle. Australian No.1 Arina Rodionova had delighted her home crowd with an upset of Sofia Kenin last week, but had still not received a wild card to the main draw. The 34-year-old No.7 seed was unable to replicate her form in qualifying, falling 6-3, 6-4 to France's Leolia Jeanjean.

Maria Timofeeva, who won her debut WTA tournament in Budapest last July as a lucky loser, was also victorious, defeating Darya Astakhova 6-2, 6-3. Timofeeva, 20, had been sidelined with a foot injury just after her breakthrough in Budapest, and returned from a three-month hiatus in December.

Elsewhere, India's Ankita Raina came from 5-3 and one match point down in the third set to triumph 6-4, 5-7, 7-6[4] over Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in 2 hours and 49 minutes, winning 10 of the last 11 points of the contest. The result was the day's only super-tiebreak, and only win from match point down. Raina will face Bejlek in the second round.

Fresh off becoming only the second Mexican woman to crack the Top 100, No.2 seed Renata Zarazua also advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Jaimee Fourlis. The World No.98 will face former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Jule Niemeier in the second round.