Britain’s Francesca Jones opened the year with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 victory over 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 during the two-hour, 23-minute triumph. She will face Austrian Sinja Kraus in the second round.
Aside from No. 3 seed Iva Jovic’s 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over Czech Gabriela Knutson, it was a tough day for the American contingent. Peyton Stearns, Sloane Stephens, Caty McNally and No. 8 seed Whitney Osuigwe were also ousted.
Kaitlin Quevedo of Spain, 19, won 6-2, 7-5 against Stearns. Chinese Xinyu Wang, seeded seventh, Mexican Renata Zarazua, Czech Sara Bejlek and Belgian Sofia Costoulas also advanced.
Brisbane International
Local favorite Kimberly Birrell outlasted Slovakian Rebecca Sramkova 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round on Monday in Australia.
Birrell saved five of eight break points and overcame six double faults during 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 over Ann Li. She will face Russian Mirra Andreeva, seeded No. 6, in the next round.
Poland’s Magdalena Frech, Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and China’s Shuai Zhang also survived three sets, while Britain’s Emerson Jones, Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya and Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva won their first match in straight sets.
–Field level media
