Gajdosova earns her first win at Australian Open
World No.62 Jarmila Gajdosova has broken a nine-year drought at the Australian Open, sweeping past Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru 6-3 6-4 in 88 minutes on Monday.
Melbourne VIC, Australia, 19 January 2015 | David Packman
World No.62 Jarmila Gajdosova has broken a nine-year drought at the Australian Open, sweeping past Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru 6-3 6-4 in 88 minutes on Monday.
It was the perfect christening for the newly revamped Margaret Court Arena, as fans reveled in watching their local charge continue her impressive form this summer.
While the pair has never previously met, Gajdosova looked the clear favourite on paper, but history has shown the weight of expectation is sometimes difficult to manage for the Australian on home soil.
However, it’s been a renaissance of sorts lately for the former world No.25 who has experienced some tough times on and off the court in recent years. The Sydney quarterfinalist – she lost to two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in a tight three-set tussle last week – looked confident and focused as she raced out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set.
Despite clawing back a break, Dulgheru was unable to put the dampeners on the 27-year-old Australian, who served out the first set with ease.
Gajdosova continued her dominance in the second set, using her more powerful groundstrokes to great effect and breaking the Dulgheru serve early.
While the 25-year-old Romanian – herself a former top-30 player – put up some resistance, it was the Australian who maintained the upper hand throughout the match, forcing Dulgheru to save two match points on her own serve before eventually taking the match when her opponent sent a backhand sailing over the baseline.
Gajdosova will have her work cut out for her in the second round, as she faces yet another Romanian, this time in the form of third seed Simona Halep, a straight sets victor on Monday over Italian Karin Knapp.