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The WTA 500 Adelaide International is suffering from the usual withdrawals ahead of a Grand Slam, with former World No 1 Angelique Kerber, Alja Tomljanovic, Lesia Tsurenko and Anastasia Potapova all pulling out after the draw and opening slots for 4 lucky losers from qualifying.
I know [Haddad Maia is] a great fighter, and if you give her a little bit of a chance to come back– and she kind of started to do that in the second set. So I knew I had to be 200 percent against her, and I’m happy it worked. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Kerber and Tomljanovic were both involved in the latter stages of the United Cup at the weekend.
One such lucky loser Ana Bogdan from Romania stepped to beat Katie Boulter, 6-3 6-4, on Monday, after the British No 1 had fought her way through qualifying to potentially play Tsurenko.
Boulter, now ranked 57 in the world, saved 2 match points on Bogdan’s serve before the Romanian converted the 3rd.
Bogdan, ranked 66, will play the winner of the match between Russian Liudmila Samsonova, the No 7 seed, and German Laura Siegemund in round 2.
Qualifier Anna Kalinskaya upset Barbora Krejcikova, the No 4 seed, in 3 sets on Monday
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Another qualifier, Anna Kalinskaya, caused a huge upset beating Czech Barbora Krejcikova, the No 4 seed, 7-5 3-6 7-5
Krejcikova, a former French Open champion and World No 10, produced a staggering 52 unforced errors to Kalinskaya’s 28, despite hitting 46 winners to the Russian’s 20.
Kalinskaya, the World No 75, had 3 match points on Krejcikova’s serve when leading 6-5 in the deciding set, and converted the 3rd for the confidence-boosting win.
“It was a great match,” 25-year old Kalinskaya said, who is finding her feet again after a difficult run with injuries last year. “She’s a very good fighter, she plays incredible tennis. She nows how to keep every shot, she made the match very complicated
“I’m happy that I won and I’m happy that I’m getting back in shape and playing better tennis every day.
“It feels good to play as many matches as I can after having a break, so it gives me more rhythm and confidence to go and play.”
Kalinskaya improves to 2-0 over Krejcikova, having already beaten the 2021 Roland Garros champion at Guadalajara in 2022.
It took the World No 75 a gruelling 2 hours and 52 minutes to subdue 10th-ranked Krejcikova on Monday and garner the fourth Top 10 win of her career.
After splitting the first two sets, Krejcikova broke Kalinskaya in the opening game of the third with a winning volley, en route to a 3-1 lead, but Kalinskaya pulled back on serve at 3-3, then later saved a break point in a crucial 4-deuce hold for 6-5.
In the following game, Kalinskaya cracked a powerful backhand service return to force an error on her third match point and collect the upset victory.
Qualifier Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova upset 5th-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia in the opening round in Adelaide
© Sarah Reed/Getty Images
Beatriz Haddad Maia, the World No 11 and 5th seed in Adelaide, also crashed out in the 1st-round at the hands of yet another qualifier, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova from Russia, 6-3 6-4, in a blow to the Brazilian’s Australian Open preparations.
Pavlyuchenkova, who is a former French Open finalist, breezed through qualifying and made light work of Haddad Maia in an hour and 37 minutes in the tournament’s opening Centre Court match.
“I know [Haddad Maia is] a great fighter, and if you give her a little bit of a chance to come back– and she kind of started to do that in the second set,” Pavlyuchenkova said on court after her win. “So I knew I had to be 200 percent against her, and I’m happy it worked.”
The 32-year-old is currently ranked No 59 after a come-back season in 2023.
The former World No 11 played only 3 events in 2022 due to injuries, but she came back strong last year, with a run to her 3rd career Roland Garros quarter-final among her highlights.
Pavlyuchenkova is now 2-0 over Haddad Maia, having also won on the hard courts of Hong Kong at the end of last season.
The Russian struck 26 winners in the match, which was double Haddad Maia’s 13, and leading to the 73rd Top 20 win of her lengthy career.
Lucky loser Cristina Bucsa was a straight sets winner over Jasmine Paolini and will play top-seeded Elena Rybakina next
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Lucky loser Cristina Bucsa from Spain teed up a Round of 16 contest with Elena Rybakina, the World No 3 and top seed, with a comfortable 6-3 6-3 win over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
Rybakina, who receives a 1st-round bye, heads into Adelaide high on confidence after claiming the Brisbane International title on Sunday.
Yet another lucky loser, Bernarda Pera from the USA, took out wild-card Paula Badosa from Spain, 3-6 6-2 6-3.
Badosa was playing her first match since..
Pera will meet her compatriot, Jessica Pegula, the World No 5 and 2nd seed, in round 2.
Earlier in the day, in an all-Ukrainian encounter, Marta Kostyuk beat her countrywoman Anhelina Kalinina, 7-6(3) 6-1.
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