Four Australian women lined up for first round action in the Indian Wells WTA 1000 tournament, and all four advanced.
The four Australians were joined by Maya Joint in the second round as the top-ranked Australian had a first round bye.
Talia Gibson came up against the highest ranked opponent of the Australian players that played on day one.
Gibson accounted for world no. 41 Ann Li. The world no. 112 taking the match 6-3, 7-5. Li is the highest ranked player that Gibson has defeated.
Gibson held match points against the 23rd seed Diana Shnaider at the Australian Open.
The win put Gibson just outside the top-100. A win against world no. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova would see her jump inside the top-100 for the first time.
The next day, Storm Hunter would take care of world no. 36 Magdalena Frech. Hunter taking the match 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Kimberly Birrell faced world no. 71 Oksana Selekhmeteva and came away with a 6-1, 6-4 victory. That win booked a second round match against rising star Victoria Mboko, the world no. 10.
Ajla Tomljanovic accounted for world no. 74 Elena-Gabriela Ruse (ROM) 7-5, 6-2. That win saw Tomljanovic book a second round match against China’s world no. 30 Wang Xinyu.
Match Centre – Talia Gibson v Ann Li.
Also read – Who will be the next Australian female to crack the top-100 club?