Britain’s Francesca Jones opened the year with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 upset of No. 2 seed Emma Navarro on Monday at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.
Ranked No. 72 in the world, Jones saved six of 12 break points in the two-hour, 23-minute triumph. She will take on Austria’s Sinja Kraus in the second round.
Other than No. 3 seed Iva Jovic’s 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 win against Czech Gabriela Knutson, it was a rough day for the U.S. contingent. Also ousted were No. 8 seed Peyton Stearns, Sloane Stephens, Caty McNally and Whitney Osuigwe.
Spain’s Kaitlin Quevedo, 19, scored the 6-2, 7-5 win against Stearns. Also advancing were No. 7 seed Xinyu Wang of China, Mexico’s Renata Zarazua, Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic and Sofia Costoulas of Belgium.
Brisbane International
Home favorite Kimberly Birrell outlasted Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in first-round action on Monday in Australia.
Birrell saved five of eight break points and overcame six double faults in the two-hour, 16-minute match, setting up a second-round clash with No. 2 seed Amanda Anisimova.
Fellow Australian Olivia Gadecki had an easier time in a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Ann Li. She will face No. 6 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia in the next round
Poland’s Magdalena Frech, Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and China’s Shuai Zhang also survived three-setters, while Great Britain’s Emerson Jones, Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, Russians Anna Kalinskaya and Aliaksandra Sasnovich, and Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan won their openers in straight sets.
–Field Level Media
