St Petersburg, Russia, 31 January 2017 | AP

Daria Gavrilova has reached the second round of the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy on Monday by beating Russian wild-card entry Anna Kalinskaya 6-4 7-5.

In her first match since reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, Gavrilova had problems holding serve against the 18-year-old Kalinskaya and was a break down in the second set.

The Australian will next face third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Kuznetsova beat Gavrilova in Moscow’s Kremlin Cup final in October last year – Gavrilova’s first appearance in a WTA final.

Meanwhile, at the concurrent WTA event in Taiwan, Sam Stosur has accepted a wildcard entry and will face Danka Kovinic in round one.

Stosur, the second seed, owns a 2-0 head-to-head record against Kovinic, from Montenegro.