Four Australian women progressed to the second round of qualifying at the Brisbane International on Friday, in a promising start to the bid for a stronger local contingent in the main draw.
But the news was not good for 2011 Brisbane finalist and former world No.9 Andrea Petkovic. The German fell 6-3, 6-3 to Russian Polina Monova.
In humid conditions, Queenslanders Sara Tomic and Priscilla Hon, and Victorians Jaimee Fourlis and Isabelle Wallace won their openers.
World No.253 Wallace, who lives and trains in Spain, said the heat made for difficult playing conditions, particularly for those flying in from cooler climates.
“I only arrived on Wednesday and I’ve been training in the cold for the past few months,” Wallace said, underlining the challenge posed by the warm Brisbane conditions for internationals. “The European girls may not be as used to the heat.”
Melbourne 18-year-old Fourlis, ranked No.324, rebounded to defeat French opponent Alize Lim 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, continuing the momentum which saw her win the 18s Girls Australian Championships, where she defeated Destanee Aiava for an Australian Open 2018 wild card.
Hon, ranked No.222 in the world, defeated Hungarian Fanny Stollar 6-3 6-4 in front of her home crowd, while world No.462 Tomic breezed past American Kayla Day, 6-1, 6-1. World No.162 Rogowska narrowly fell to American Bernarda Pera 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(7).
The 2012 Brisbane International champion, Kaia Kanepi, took down Aussie wild card Kimberly Birrell 6-1, 6-3 in her bid to regain a place in the main draw, while former world No.29 Kateryna Bondarenko took care of another Aussie wildcard, Naiktha Bains, 6-1, 6-4.
Third seed Heather Watson got off to a winning start with a 7-5, 6-3 result over American Danielle Lao.