Kasatkina, Ostapenko, Petkovic make winning start at Gippsalnd Trophy

Daria Kasatkina made a strong start of the Aussie Swing, beating Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-1, 6-1 in 63 minutes in the Gippsland Trophy opening round.

The Russian lost serve twice but was never in danger following a stellar performance on the return, taking nearly 70% of the points behind Buzarnescu's serve and securing seven breaks from ten break opportunities.

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The Romanian couldn't hold serve in the entire encounter, and Daria was always in front despite those two loose service games, making a perfect debut in Melbourne and hoping for more in the second match.

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In the former top-5 players' battle, Jelena Ostapenko ousted Sara Errani 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in an hour and 53 minutes. Both players faced 14 break chances and it was the Latvian who played better in the decisive moments, losing the opener and raising her level after that to seal the deal in the second and third. They traded six breaks at the beginning of the second set, and Ostapenko grabbed another to bring the set home and force a decider.

With nothing working her way after the opener, Errani lost serve eight times in a row to propel her opponent over the top, let down by her initial shot like many times before in a career.

Andrea Petkovic needed two hours and 21 minutes to prevail against Martina Trevisan 6-1, 3-6, 7-5, remaining focused in the closing stages to bring the victory home and advance into the next round.

Check all the results from Melbourne this week on our Live score page.