Gavrilova wins opener in Rome, Stosur beaten
Daria Gavrilova wins her opening match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, but Sam Stosur falls in the first round.
Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy, 15 May 2018 | AAP
Daria Gavrilova has advanced to the second round of the Italian Open with hard-fought win over Natalia Vikhlyantseva.
The world No.24 fought back from a set down to win 5-7 6-4 6-3 despite sending down 10 double faults against the 21-year-old from Russia, ranked 85th in the world.
Gavrilova faces a tough match next up in the form of reigning Wimbledon and 2016 French Open champion Garbine Muguruza.
It was a disappointing day for Sam Stosur, who lost to Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck 6-7(6) 6-3 6-2.
Australian No.1 Ashleigh Barty faces five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova on Tuesday.
Australian qualifier Ajla Tomljanovic takes on Russian world No.13 Daria Kasatkina.
Barty teamed up with Demis Schuurs of the Netherlands in the doubles on Monday, with the new pairing beating Nicole Melichar and Kveta Peschke 6-3 -2 in round one.