No.12 seed Anca Todoni was among the notable winners on Day 1 of Australian Open qualifying, edging 2020 junior champion Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 in 1 hour and 59 minutes.
The 20-year-old Romanian has risen to the brink of the Top 100 after a series of eye-catching performances over the past year. Todoni was a two-time WTA 125 champion in 2024, lifting trophies on clay in Bari and Santa Cruz, and reached the second round of Wimbledon as a qualifier on her Grand Slam debut. She's kept her momentum going in 2025, qualifying and reaching the second round of Brisbane last week.
Todoni's big-hitting game, which she models on former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, was on song against Jimenez Kasintseva, and she struck 26 winners to the 19-year-old Andorran's 15.
Three narrow escapes
The comeback of the day goes to No.30 seed Daria Snigur, who trailed Emiliana Arango by a set and 5-3 before rallying for a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory. A riveting contest between two players with quirky styles saw the Ukrainian gradually rein in her unforced errors to overpower the finesse-based Arango, ultimately tallying 34 winners. Snigur is bidding to qualify in Melbourne for the second consecutive year.
The last ball of Day 1 was struck at nearly midnight local time, and sealed a tense 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 triumph for No.29 seed Maria Timofeeva over France's Alice Tubello. Both players struggled physically towards the close of the 2-hour, 26-minute contest, with Timofeeva remaining stationary on the ground for several minutes at 5-5. Timofeeva, 21, enjoyed a surprise run to the fourth round out of qualifying last year -- and she barely scraped through to keep the dream of a second straight Cinderella run alive.
Heather Watson appeared to have squandered a golden chance of advancing to Round 2 after losing a marathon 30-point tiebreak, in which she had held two match points, to 19-year-old Lola Radivojevic of Serbia. But the 32-year-old Briton, who first competed in Australian Open qualifying back in 2011, used all her experience to recover for the decider. Watson eventually pulled through 7-6, 6-7(14), 6-2 in 2 hours and 36 minutes over Radivojevic, who was contesting her first Grand Slam qualifying draw.
Three seeded upsets
After spending her United Cup debut on the sidelines with no match play, Australia's Destanee Aiava lamented the week as her "worst prep I've ever had" for her home major in a vlog. But the 24-year-old rebounded to pull off the most significant upset of Day 1, ousting No.10 seed Ana Bogdan 6-4, 6-2. The No.195-ranked 24-year-old fired six aces and won eight of 11 net points.
Even with her ranking down at No.143, three-time WTA titlist Nao Hibino possesses enough craft to undo younger, more powerful opponents. The Japanese 30-year-old came from 5-3 down in the first set to defeat the 20-year-old No.17 seed Marina Stakusic of Canada 7-6(5), 6-1.
Raluka Serban's quest to become the first Cypriot woman to play in a Grand Slam main draw got off to a fine start with a 7-6(5), 6-0 defeat of No.24 seed Jessika Ponchet. Serban, 27, is competing in her 14th Grand Slam qualifying event; she has reached the final round once to date, at Roland Garros last year.
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