Australia’s Daria Gavrilova is yet to record a win in 2019. You have to go back to mid-October when she last tasted victory, that came in Moscow when Gavrilova won a tight round one match against Vitalia Diatchenko 7-6(5), 7-5.
Sydney, Australia – 7 January 2018: Daria Gavrilova during her round one match at the Sydney International. (Photo by Rob Keating/robiciatennis.com)
In 2019 Gavrilova has lost her first round matches at the Brisbane and Sydney Internationals and at the Australian Open. Overnight the world no. 46 was competitive against an in-form Maria Sharapova, although the first set score would suggest otherwise.
Sharapova, playing in St Petersburg for the first time took the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy round one match 6-0, 6-4. The Russian broke in the first game before taking out an 18-minute nine-second service game to lead 2-0.
In the second set, it was Gavrilova that looked to have turned things around as she held a 4-2 lead only to see Sharapova come storming back to win the next four games and close out the match an hour and 47 minutes.
Gavrilova tweeted this after the match “Honestly… Game is still not there but attitude was there.. finally felt like I gave everything without any regrets! Writing this as I’m cooling down on the bike…”
World no. 29 Sharapova had last week knocked out the Australian Open defending champion in their round three clash. Australia’s Ash Barty would then defeat the Russian in the fourth round in Melbourne.
Mixed day for the Aussies in Thailand
The other Australians competing on the WTA tour this week were in action at the Toyota Thailand Open in Hua Hin. Ajla Tomljanovic won her opening match against Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele 6-1, 7-6(6). She twice had to break Voegele in the second set as the Swiss player was serving for the set.
Priscilla Hon lost to Poland’s world no. 98 Magda Linette 6-1, 2-6, 6-2. After looking to have taken control of the match after winning the second set and then breaking early in the deciding set Hon fell apart to lose six of the next seven games.
Tomljanovic faces Ukraine’s world no. 95 Kateryna Kozlova in the second round.
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